Shape Shifter
by Obsidian Leo
Summary: In a world destroyed by hate and violence, Jason discovers that he is a Shifter, someone with the power to change objects into other objects. While it's hard to put your entire life behind you to pursue this new ability, he's ready to become one of the most powerful people in the world. But darkness is lurking, and Jason must find out who to trust before it destroys them all.
1. Chapter 1

Shape Shifter

By Obsidian Leo

_1_

1:32 am

That's what my phone said when I arrived there, completely out of breath, chest on fire. I leaned against the cold stone wall, wheezing, thinking about what had just happened. Not too long ago, I was sleeping in my bed a few miles away, when my mom came bursting into my room, wild haired, eyes wide, startling me awake. By the time I had fully comprehended that I was late, she'd already half-dragged me to the dining room, putting a small bowl of cereal in front of me. But, it only took me 5 minutes to get ready, and the same amount of time to get driven to the abandoned subway station.

After that, I could've won an Olympic medal for how fast I sprinted, half tripping over the rails. The meeting had started at 1 in the morning, so by the time I got there it was already over. Now, I took a few more deep breaths, and calmed down enough so I wouldn't look like a complete lunatic. Finally, I stood up straight, turned toward the doorless frame and walked into the room. Looking around, however, I realized it wasn't a room at all. It appeared to be a long corridor; warm yellow light shining down from bulbs in the ceiling. They were spread out, with at least 30 feet in between each one, creating an alternating pattern of light and darkness.

The floor, walls, and ceiling, which was arched at the top, were all made of gray bricks of stone, damp and cool under my feet. From where I was standing, there were at least two dozen people, all whom I didn't recognize. They were lounging around, talking in small groups, sitting on the floor, or scrolling through their phones. Which, then, reminded me I should probably check mine. I took it out and turned it on, only to find one message that I wasn't concerned with. Returning it to my pocket, I began weaving my way through the people, looking for someone in particular. I noticed other corridors branched off from the one I was walking in, leading to places I couldn't quite make out.

I was halfway down the hallway, when I heard a slightly exasperated voice call out.

"Jason!"

I froze at the sound of my name, then turned around to face the speaker. Thankfully, nobody else seemed to notice. The person, who was silhouetted at first, stepped into the light of the bulb above us, and then I could make out his features. He wore a white T-Shirt and Nikes, blue jeans, and a black Yankees cap. His face was morphed into a frown.

"I thought you weren't going to show up. Why are you late?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I've been here the entire time, Ryan. Just using the bathroom."

"First off, the only bathrooms here are in the bedrooms, and you don't know where yours is. Second, I literally saw you walk in."

"Wha… how-?"

"I recognized your T-Shirt," Ryan interrupts. "I'd know that from anywhere."

I sheepishly glanced down at my gray shirt with a creeper face on it, the mottled greens, whites, and black eyes unmistakable. Besides that I had on blue shorts and gray Vans.

"But, seriously," Ryan's still talking, so I look up. "Minecraft. You're still into that?"

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah," I say incredulously. "I mean, who isn't? Who doesn't like running around killing-"

"Anyway," he says hastily. "It is what it is. You missed the meeting, but not anything too important. But, I want you to answer this question honestly. Do you know why you're here?"

I look at him as if he asked me to jump off a cliff. Well, of course I knew why I was here. It said what I'd be doing in the text I received. But it seemed like something was off, so I took my best shot and said what I thought was right.

"Well, yeah. To join a top-secret team the U.S. military created to help defend the country."

"Right," Ryan murmured to himself, but I still heard him. "And you weren't followed?"

I pause. "No."

"And nobody saw you?"

"Besides my mom?"

"Wait, what? You gotta be kidding me!"

I scoff. "I don't live across the street, you know."

"Fine," he replied with a sigh.

An awkward moment of silence passed, and then Ryan spoke again. "So why haven't you switched to the Night Mode schedule yet?"

Living with a Night Mode schedule meant, to sum it up, your whole day gets flipped. You'd go to sleep during the daylight hours, roughly 7 am- 8 pm, and be active during the night, 8 pm- 5 am. It was something that could take weeks to get used to, but it was essential for the job I signed up to do, since training was at night.

"Because I didn't have enough time." _Because your mom didn't want me to_, I scolded myself.

"Well, make sure you register it by tomorrow night," he replied offhandedly. "But don't do it yet. We finally got the gym free tomorrow, so practice is at 9 in the morning."

I nod slightly, feeling rather tired.

He studied me carefully. "You don't look all that good, man. Come on, I'll take you to your room. The buzzer's about to go off anyway."

"What? Oh, no, I'm not that sleepy."

"You just love lying, don't you?" Ryan said, cracking a smile for the first time.

No sooner had he said that, a loud buzz was heard, echoing through the corridors. He gestures to me to follow him, as the others begin leaving the area. We turn down a hall, and I glance over at the people walking in the opposite direction on our left. But, one of them catches my eye easier than the rest, He was in all black, from his sneakers to his sweatshirt, and the hood was pulled up over his head. It cast a shadow over his eyes, obscuring them, leaving only a mouth that was stuck in a frown. As we passed each other, I sensed something in his presence, that made me think we were alike somehow.

But the moment passed almost as quickly as it had come.

I looked back at him, inquisitively, but he turned a corner at the end of the hall. I shook my head, and jogged to catch up with Ryan.


	2. Chapter 2

_2_

Back at my home on Skyward Avenue, I had just gotten used to my newly renovated room. Besides a bed, a dresser, and a desk, it had light blue walls, and a bluish-green carpet. It was no longer as messy as it used to be; there were no books and papers on the floor, or clothes all over the bed. And yet that hadn't prepared me for what Ryan showed me. After walking down a few hallways, we arrived at where I'd be staying. I couldn't help, but stare, shocked.

It was just like a room you'd see at a hotel. From the entrance, I could see a small living room and a kitchen area, complete with a microwave and a polished counter in the middle. A table with two chairs sat next to a large flat screen TV hooked up to one of the gray walls, opposite a large couch. Walking in, there was a hallway that connected with three doors, which Ryan told me were for the bedroom, bathroom, and storage. Like the walls, the ceiling was gray, but the carpet was creamy white.

"I can definitely get used to this," I said, taking in how much space there was, unlike the crowded corridors.

"Thought you'd like it," Ryan replied. "Just a few pointers before I go, you can eat anything in the fridge; they refill it every week. There's free Wi-Fi, the TV has all the streaming services, including the newly released one SkyCinema, and laundry is picked up every day to be washed and returned. If you need anything, just call me. You have my number."

"Thanks, Ryan," I said over my shoulder, walking down the hallway and opening the door to the bedroom. "Wait, why are there two beds?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention, someone else lives here. Don't worry, it shouldn't be a problem." Voices I couldn't make out shouted something from down the hall. "Oops, sorry. I have to go. See you tomorrow."

"Ok. Hold on, who else lives-?" The door closed. I shrugged, then turned on the light to check out the bedroom.

The foundation was the same in here as well, with the gray walls and white carpet. Along with the beds, there were two white dressers, a closet directly across from me, and a ceiling fan. I took off the backpack I'd been wearing the entire time and looked at the beds, wondering which I should take. After a moment, I chose the one on the right and layed my backpack on it. I opened one of the drawers on my dresser, and found there were clothes in it already. One check on the tags told me they were all my size.

No wonder they needed all my information. I unzipped my backpack and took out the clothes I'd brought. It all consisted of two pairs of shirts, pants, socks, and underwear. I put them in one of the drawers, then dropped my backpack on the floor. I wasn't in the mood to do any more unpacking. After closing the drawer, I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. As I finished washing up, I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. And that's when I noticed that there were towels within reach.

I looked down at my wet hands with disdain. There were probably more in the storage room, but I didn't feel like going in there like this. I sighed, wishing there was one hanging around. I shook my head as I opened the door to leave. But then, a warm tingling sensation enveloped my body, and a slight whooshing sound filled my ears. I stopped, went rigid, and slowly turned around, feeling my heart pounding. But nothing had changed. The tingling and whooshing had stopped.

Then, on a closer look, I realized this wasn't true. A silver ring hung behind me, with a tan colored towel hanging on it. I also noticed that the washcloth, that'd been previously sitting on the sink, had seemingly disappeared. My eyes widened. The cloth and the ring had both passed through my line of sight, so what if that meant…

I released the breath I was holding and left the bathroom. I was determined that I wouldn't go crazy in a place like this. My mind could've been playing tricks on me. I walked into the bedroom, turned off the lights, and climbed into bed carefully; it was dark and I could barely see. I immediately noticed that the comforter and blankets were actually softer than they looked. I lay still, staring up at the pitch darkness, trying to shake my head from what I had just experienced. But several minutes later, I felt my eyes droop, and fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of a door closing. My eyes widened and I looked over at the bed next to mine. The covers and the blanket had clearly been moved. I remembered what Ryan had said earlier, and figured my roommate had gone to training early. I rolled back over and found myself looking up at the ceiling fan lights. There was no point in going back to sleep. I sat up, stretching, and grabbed my phone from the nightstand to check the time. 8:16 AM, Tuesday, March 4, 2109. I gave a slight groan of annoyance. I had to be at training in 45 minutes.

I got out of bed, put on deodorant and new clothes, and went to the kitchen area. Opening the refrigerator, I found some fruit, and made a quick bowl. Doing a practice session with a bunch of people I didn't know left me feeling a little jittery, and I wasn't in that much of a mood to eat. However, 30 minutes later, I was ready to go. Leaving my room, I closed the door and walked down the hall, seeing other people emerge, looking a little groggy.

I made a right, and then a left, before realizing I had no idea where I was going. I turned around, trying to get back to where I had been, but I just got even more lost. All the corridors looked the same. I almost started to panic, because by that point, it was already 8:50, and I didn't want to be late a second time. So, I walked up to the first guy I saw to ask for help.

"Yo, dude, are you going to the training session in the gym?"

He looked at me. His hair was thick and brown, and he was about two inches shorter than me. All his clothes were gray, including his shoes. "Yeah, why?"

I felt an immense relief. "Oh, good. Because I am too and I have no idea where it is."

He smiled. "Well, you can follow me, then. I'll take you there."

"Thanks," I replied.

"No problem."

And so we went down one hallway, trying to get around people as the corridors continued to fill up.

"So, what's your name?" He asks me.

"Jason. You?"

"I'm Jam."

I can't help but chuckle a little. "Jam as in strawberry jam?"

He stops and turns to me with fake bewilderment. No, jam as in radio jamming."

I pause. "I wasn't aware that was still a thing."

"It's not," he replied, continuing to walk. "My friends just call me that."

We press on through the corridor until we reach a door that leads to a staircase.

"Wait, what?" I wonder aloud. "The gym is above ground?"

"Yeah," Jam said. "There's a high school that went out of business a while back near the subway. It still has electricity and water and stuff, so we use it to train.

"But, if it's abandoned, then why did Ryan say that it was free? I thought that would've been a given."

"Other people use it too, you know," he explained, as we got to the top and came to a set of double doors. "Of course, we can't use it at the same time they do, though, considering what we do."

The thought of how these guys train never occurred to me. "What do you do?"

But my question was lost to the chatter of other teenagers, as we walked into yet another hallway. Jam led me to the right and, finally, we arrived. The gym was probably as big as three quarters of a football field, and had a high ceiling. Large windows near the top let in the glaring sun, creating rays that looked like something out of a picture next to cream colored walls. The whole place was packed.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Yeah," Jam replied. "We don't get this all the time, so enjoy it while it lasts." He began to disappear into the crowd.

"Hey, whoa!" Where are you going?" I asked.

He turned around. "To my class. We all got assigned one. Weren't you at the meeting last night?"

I look down sheepishly. "No."

"Well, I'm not sure who you're with, so I think you should try to find Ryan. He'll tell you. I'll see you later." He walked away.

Helplessness enveloped me. Find Ryan in a crowd like this? It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I glanced at my phone, which said 8:58 AM. My heart raced again. Even in the little time I had, it was worth a try. I went around the throng of people, searching for the familiar face, at first with no luck. But then, with relief, I spotted him at the far left of the room near the bleachers. The tension evaporated as I ran toward him.

"Ryan!" I called out.

He looked up at me. "Hey, Jason, what's going on?"

"I'm a little confused on what to do here."

He looked confused for a second, but then his eyes lit with recognition. "That's right. I forgot to tell you who's training you. Actually, wait here. I'll tell him to come to you when he gets here." He turned to go.

"Hold on, who's training me?"

Ryan looked back. "Aiden Pastcov. I've known him for a while, and he's really good at doing this." He went to leave.

"Wait! Good at wha-?" But he was already gone. I sighed with frustration, then leaned against the wall, feeling anxious to get started.

Which didn't take very long. In a few minutes, the gym had cleared out considerably, with groups of people leaving to go do whatever work they had to do. Which made it odd that they came here in the first place. I figured that only the beginners were using the gym today. But the area was empty enough that I could see a person coming toward me.

He had fire colored eyes, a reddish gold color, which pierced right through mine, that stood out against his pale face. His short, brown hair added something to them, since they were the only bright colors he had. He wore a black sweatshirt, dark jeans, and black boots that glinted slightly in the light. His stride made him look confident and strong. There was a peculiar aurora around him that seemed familiar.

"Hey man, what's up?" He said as he came up to me. His voice was rather deep and heavy. He extended a hand. "I'm Aiden, and I'll be training you for the Defenders." That's what this team was called.

"My name's Jason," I reply, shaking his hand, which was surprisingly soft. "I have a quick question, though. What will I be doing here? I mean, a couple of the guys made it seem like I'd be doing more than using guns or whatever."

Aiden smiled slightly. "To answer that, I need to ask you a question." I cocked my head to the side. "Do you know why you're here?"

That was the second time someone had asked me that and it felt unnerving. "I thought I knew, but now I'm not so sure anymore. It must be something that I don't understand."

He nodded slowly. Then he gestured to a pile of balls in the corner. "I'll show you. See that basketball over there?"  
I looked at the brown sphere with black stripes. "Yeah."

"I want you to think of it looking like something else."

Of all the things I expected, that wasn't. "What do you mean?"

He shifted uncomfortably, then tried again. "Imagine the basketball being something other than a basketball. Just don't make it too big. Wouldn't want it to destroy the gym."

I looked at him weirdly, then focused on the ball. If this was part of the training then it was a little ridiculous. I brought it into my mind, then allowed the image of a soccer ball to join it. To my surprise, the warm, tingling sensation began again, and the basketball dispersed into a million little orbs of light, then a second later, they combined, but not back into a basketball. They now formed a soccer ball. The tingling stopped.

I turned back to him, my heart racing, feeling the urge to scream, but fighting against it. Convinced that I had gone completely insane, I was ready to just bail out on the idea of continuing with the Defenders and returning back to the life that I knew was real. I could tell Aiden didn't like my disturbed expression, because he took a step closer and placed a warm hand on my shoulder, attempting to calm me down. But I didn't want any of it.

"What...why...how was I able to do that?" I managed to get out, my voice cracking with shock and fear.

He gazed at me with sympathy in his eyes. "That's why you're here, Jason. Just like every other Defender, you have the power to turn objects into other objects."

"You mean like shape shifting?"

"Exactly, though we just call it shifting. Which makes you a Shifter."

I nodded silently. I was beginning to calm down, but I was still freaked out. "But, how does it even work? Things can't just do that on their own."

"You're right, they don't." He replied vaguely.

"So...how do they?" I pushed further.

He looked down. "Well, it has a lot of science to it…"

"I'm good with that. I love science." I exclaim, which is true. Ever since I learned Earth science in sixth grade, I had taken a liking to the subject. There was just something about the environment, the rock cycle, the water cycle, anything to do with nature that I had admired. I was even more interested in Biology and Physics, because learning about the body and mind were a couple of the things that just clicked with me. I never really like mixing chemicals, so Chemistry wasn't my strong suit.

He grinned. "That's awesome. Makes my job easier. Since most people don't care about this stuff."

I raise an eyebrow. "How many other...Shifters have you taught?"

"Not important right now," he said offhandedly. "But, since you should find out at some point, objects can be shifted by communicating with the Particles inside them."

"Particles?"

"They're microscopic organisms that make up the world around us, such as those bleachers, the windows, even you. They give objects their shape and color."

"Then what do cells and atoms do?" I asked.

"Well, as you may know, atoms determine if something is a solid, liquid, or gas and cells create life in living things. But the Particles can change the way atoms and cells are formed to make different objects."

I take it all in and start to feel more confident and sure about my newfound ability. But, the only thing was…

"Why haven't I heard of this before?"

"It's only known to certain people," Aiden replied. "Like the Defenders. Very few people are born with the powers to change objects."

I look at him incredulously. "Really? This gym was packed a few minutes ago. That doesn't seem like a few people."

"Out of everyone in the entire world?" He said with a smile. My eyes widen. "Yes, as far as we know, everybody in this vicinity are the only known Shifters on earth. That's why you all got that text. It's important for us to band together and increase the strength of our powers."

There was an awkward pause, before I was anxious to move on. "So, what are you going to teach me?"

"Now we have to work on building our way up," he replied, as he led me over to the opposite side of the gym. "We'll start out with shifting the balls and a few pieces of equipment, and then we'll work on bigger objects that are more complex."

For the rest of the morning, I practiced changing objects like doors, soccer nets, and basketball hoops, into ones that he instructed me to think of. They actually weren't too hard to shift; I could think of anything at all, and their image could stay clear in my head until the transformation was complete. But, after several tries, the sensation that had felt comfortably warm, now became an almost burning feeling. After attempting to turn an entire bench press and barbells into two sneakers, the pain from it finally took over my body, and I felt convinced to find out what was happening.

"So why do I feel my body heat up every time I shift?" I asked, rubbing my fried arms. Although they looked completely fine, I could feel them burning under my touch. "It's beginning to hurt."

"Remember when I said that people are made of Particles?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, when you shift objects, the Particles in you communicate, so to speak, with the Particles in the objects. They tell those Particles what to turn in to. And don't worry about the pain. That's something that happens naturally with beginners. Though, it happens because the Particles in you are working when you shift things. They move around, longer and faster, bigger objects. But, the more they do, the warmer your body will feel."

"However," he continued, after a deep breath. "Having more physical strength can allow the Particles to do less work, which leads to the next thing we do here."

"Work out?"

Aiden nodded. "Not too much, just for a little while about once a week. We use the weight room on the other side of the gym. It's good, because there aren't any windows in there."

"Ok," I replied, bringing all the information into my head. "But you really know your stuff, man. That's incredible."

He looked down, seemingly embarrassed, but I could see he was still smiling. "Well, it's something that you have to do, being a Shifter leader and all."

I was about to ask what he meant, but, as if he knew what I would ask, said, "Another time. But, your training is over for the day, so there's a cafeteria back downstairs you can go to for lunch."

"Thanks," I said, turning to leave. I walked a few steps, then stopped and went back to him.

"Where is the cafeteria?"

He looked at me, confused. "They handed out maps of the entire facility last night. Weren't you at the meeting?"  
I slapped my forehead. "No."

"Don't worry. I have an extra." He fished into his back jeans pocket, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and gave it to me.

"Thank you," I said in relief, taking it.

"Anytime, buddy. Talk to me if you ever need anything."

I nodded with a smile, then began walking out of the gym. I was beginning to like this guy, even though we've only known each other for a few hours. As I opened the door, I turned to look back at him, only to find out that he'd vanished.


	3. Chapter 3

_3_

I followed the map, which revealed the underground area to be a lot bigger than I thought it was, until I reached one of the cafeterias. I was surprised at how plain it was. Its size was about half of the gym, with white walls and no windows. Besides several tables and benches, enough to accomodate the big crowd already in there, and a few vending machines there really wasn't much else. I walked in, scanning the faces for Jam. A few people caught me looking at them, and I glanced away abruptly. However, I finally found him near a table with a group of girls tapping furiously on their phones.

"Jam," I said, walking over.

He looked up and smiled as I sat down. "Hey, Jason. Did you get everything sorted out?"

"Yep. I'm now being trained by a guy named Aiden."

His eyes lit up with amazement. "Aiden? Wow, you're lucky. He's one of the best. All I got was Michael."

"Is he any good?" I asked.

"Well, I mean, yeah. Sort of," Jam replied uncomfortably. Then he grins. "But, if one of us messes up, let's just say he doesn't get very happy."

I snicker a little. "So, how many people are in your class?"

"About twelve. And they're all so infuriating. Mostly because they think they're pros or whatever. How about you?"

I look down, a little embarrassed. "I'm the only one."

I raise my head to see that he's staring at me, mouth open. I lift an eyebrow.

"Dude," he says, almost in awe. "I envy you so much right now. You don't have to deal with angry instructors or stuck up idiots."

I smile. "Should I be flattered?"

"I would. It's rare that any of the Shifter leaders choose someone to personally train," he replied with a shrug.

I pondered that comment for a moment.

He leans over on his side, and then I hear the sound of a zipper moving, indicating that Jam was opening his backpack. He sits back up with a deep blue lunch box, opens it, and withdraws a sandwich with turkey and lettuce in it. He takes it apart with a disgusted expression on his face, then stares at it, concentrating. Immediately, the turkey breast dissolved into Particles, which reformed an instant later, becoming a thin layer of peanut butter on the bread. Likewise, the lettuce turned into a clump of jelly, which was spread out enough to fill its piece.

"I hate when my mom does that," Jam seethed under his breath. Then, he noticed me shuttering a little, my eyes wide.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I reply, stilling myself. "Just, I never knew Shape Shifting was an actual thing. I'm still getting used to it."

He nodded sympathetically. "I didn't either. Until I was five. One night, my mom was reading a story to me, and I was so tired that all I could think about was going to sleep in my nice, comfy bed. Then, the book dropped to the floor as it became," he snickered, "a bed. I felt scared and confused, so she told me everything." Jam looked a little sheepish, probably embarrassed of the story of the story, but I thought it was pretty interesting and a bit funny.

"So, your parents are Shifters?" I asked him.

"Yep, though my dad doesn't like it. What about yours?"

"They never told me, so if they are, I'm not sure."

Jam shrugged, then took a bite of his sandwich. Seeing him eat made me hungry too. I felt my stomach rumble. The thought of bringing some food from my room hadn't even crossed my mind. I stood up.

"I'm gonna get something from the vending machine," I told him. He nodded absentmindedly, fishing out his phone, and scrolling through it. I turned and went over to the nearest one and looked at the options. I smiled slightly, seeing the cheap prices.

Currency has changed in the last 60 years. There was no more need to carry around any coins, dollars, or even a wallet. For your ID and other information, all that was stored on an app that came with your phone. For money, however, it was all stored on a Cash Card. With one swipe, the price of whatever you bought was deducted straight from a Cash account at the bank. And prices had reduced significantly. This was mostly because materials and manufactured goods were now made in larger quantities than they used to. So, any computer or television that would usually cost hundreds of dollars could now be bought for only 100 or less. But looking at the selection in the vending machine, I chose to get a protein bar and a bag of chips, which barely cost me a dollar. I went to another machine that only offered drinks, and chose a small bottle of Coke. Satisfied, I made to go back to Jam's table.

But, instead, almost crashed into the person walking behind me. She let out a small gasp of surprise, stepping back.

"Oop, sorry, I-" I managed to get out, before losing my train of thought. The girl that I had nearly ran into looked more beautiful than anyone I'd seen before, which was saying something. She wore a white tank-top and blue jeans, and had long, dirty blonde hair that she tossed back with one head. Her eyes were large and blue.

"That's alright," she responded, smiling when she caught my eye. She continued her path back to a table with more girls. I found myself smiling too.

"What was that?" Jam asked as I sat down and ripped open the package on the protein bar.

"What are you talking about?" I responded innocently, taking a bite.

"Not many reasons you'd stare at a girl like that," he replied smuggly.

"Yeah, well, wasn't expecting to see one behind me," I said with a shrug. "We all have moments like that, Jam."

"I don't think-" He started, but got interrupted when the group of girls next to us decided to leave. One of them glanced over at us and smiled shyly saying, "Hi, Jam."

He turned around in surprise, and then made an attempt to look cool as he waved timidly. All the girls giggled, walking out of the cafeteria.

"Looks like I'm not the only one," I said chuckling, once they left.

He opened his mouth to respond, just as a loud buzzing sounded through the room. I looked around in confusion, seeing everyone else standing and beginning to head out. I took a sip of the Coke.

"What's going on?"

"That's just the signal for us to go back to our rooms to get some sleep," Jam replied, sliding his lunch box into his backpack.

"Sleep, but it's only 12 in the morning."

"Night Mode, remember?"

Suddenly, I realized the thing that I had forgotten to do. I was up in a flash, grabbing the chip bag, Coke, and the protein wrapper, trying to merge with the crowd.

"Wow, I've never seen someone so excited for bedtime," Jam jokes, as he stood up, stretching.

"I didn't register yet," was my only reply.

"Wait, what?" Jam called out after me, as I found an opening and squeezed in with the people. I tossed the wrapper in the trash and hurried through the door.

* * *

I stalked back to my room in annoyance, frustrated at how long it had taken to sign up for Night Mode. First, I was only able to do it at the main desk, which was on the opposite side of the underground facility. And it was not easy trying to navigate through the crowded hallways that were full to bursting. Next, I hadn't realized how many other people who needed to register besides me. I waited for at least 15 minutes, until it was my turn, and, to top it all off, it was only able to be done on a computer.

It took me a little bit to figure out how to do it, but I created my account. It was that, or signing a waiver, which would be sent to my parents. I figured they wouldn't be happy about getting one, so I went with the account instead. But, by the time I finished, it was almost 1 in the afternoon, and I should've already been asleep. This didn't raise my spirits as I turned a corner and through the empty hallway where my room was.

Only to find out it wasn't empty at all. Only one person was walking down it, looking at her phone. She sensed me watching her and looked up.

"Oh, hi Jason," the girl from lunch said, before I could open my mouth.

"How- how do you know my name?" It was the only response I could think of.

"Jam told me," she replied with a shrug. "I'm Kaitlyn, by the way."

"Oh, nice to meet you," I answered clumsily. There was an awkward pause until Kaitlyn broke the silence.

"Well, better get going," she said, and giving me last look, continued down the hall.

I watched her until she was out of sight, then turn back with frustration. I could guess pretty well what she wanted by looking at me like that, and I was sure not going to give it to her. No, not in the midst of all this work and training would I get a girlfriend. With that resolve, I went to my room, and opened the door.

Then felt my stomach flutter as my eyes widened.

Aiden was lying, horizontally on the couch, taping out something on the sleek, silver laptop on his lap. He was wearing white earbuds and saying words to quiet for me to hear. I took a few tentative steps forward and shut the door behind me. That was when he looked up, noticed me, and smiled.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," he said, taking his earbuds off, closing the laptop, and putting both into the black backpack on the floor next to him.

"So, wait," I reply, thinking. "You're my roommate?"

He nodded. "But, I gotta say, you can snore rather loud."

"When did you hear-?"

"Last night," he responded with a shrug. "I had something to do and didn't finish until around 3 in the morning."

"Oh, that's why you weren't here," I said. Then I gestured to the backpack. "What were you doing on your laptop?"

"Just making music."

"Whoa, really?" I asked incredulously. "People still do that?"

He looks at me in surprise. "Of course, or, at least I do. It takes my mind off things." He paused for a moment, then continued. "I use this software called MusicNote 17."

"MusicNote," I repeated. "Didn't that come out a few years ago?"

"Yeah, and they've been updating it ever since," Aiden replied. "It's not much different than the others, but it's easier to work with. It includes just about any sound you can imagine, an audio editing tab, and many other components to make unique songs." He went to the refrigerator, got out a Gatorade and sat down at the table. I took a seat opposite of him and opened my chip bag. Then asked him the question that had been nagging at me for hours.

"So, Aiden, I've been wondering about shape shifting." He raised an eyebrow, so I continued, "Like, how did it come to be? When did people start shifting?"

He took a drink of Gatorade before responding. "You remember the events that happened in 2071?"

"So that's where it began?" I wondered, surprised. "But, there's nothing that happened during that time that mentions anything about it."

He looked at me. "You sure about that?"

I cocked my head in confusion. "Of course. I was big on history during the first half of freshman year."

"Really," he replied, leaning back. "Then, tell me what you know about the Nucleon War."

I was caught off guard for a moment before I regained my composure. "Why?"

He folded his arms. "I'd like to see what you know."

I nodded slowly, then went right into it.

"So, advances in technology through the past 50 years had brought about the next generation of nuclear weapons. They were now accessible in cannons, plane blasters, and any of the bigger weapons. However, this had made high officials in Europe rather greedy, and wanted to obtain an infinite source of the power, called nucleon. But it only exists just outside of our atmosphere. Then rumors were going around that the United States had new machinery to collect the material from space, which started the Nucleon War. While it was false that we did, none of the other countries wanted to listen because, as it turns out, nucleon had more uses than just ammunition." I took a deep breath. "How am I doing?"

Aiden smiled slightly. "You're right so far. You still got a little bit more before you get to the Shifters."

I nodded. "Okay. Anyway, in 2067, the entirety of Europe, along with the Middle East, formed an alliance with each other to go to war with America. Thankfully, Mexico and Canada remained with us, but it was a big development because we lost our treaty with Britain and France. The biggest part was that this was one of the few times that the battle was brought to our land. Which is exactly what happened. First, it was China and Japan, who came in through planes, and managed to bomb a large number of big cities, including Washington D.C. Then Germany and Russia came by sea and launched attacks on the shore. Both groups only took not even a week to get here, considering how transportation improved.

"But the problem that we were in battle on both sides of the country remained, so our army split up into the Western and Eastern Militia to accompany both forces. Mexico and Canada came to help, and so, until about 2070, the United States fended off the attackers. Everyone lived in fear the entire time, but we held them off for a while. However, we eventually started to run out of the nucleon to power our weapons, so the government dispatched a team of scientists to extract more. However, most of them died from radiation poisoning, since the substance is known to cause that. The only survivor, this guy named Aaron Clark, was able to bring back more, but he soon disappeared after returning, and nobody was able to find his location.

"Either way, we were able to win the war in the 2071, but not without costs to both sides. The United States was in complete ruins. Many states had been wiped out, about 30 of them in total. Most of the destruction was in the middle of the country, but the east and west sides both definitely had damage too. The army decided to stay split up in case something like this would happen again. As for Europe and the Middle East, there were several times that we took the war to them, which resulted in much of the land being blown up there as well. Radiation pollution became a world-wide problem to society, so much of the United States was closed off to contain it. Since then, our country has remained under military supervision until further notice. But, now here we are in 2109." I took another deep breath and lifted my can of Coke to my mouth for a drink when I finished. That was actually pretty exhausting. Now that I know what public speakers do every day, that's totally not a career path for me.

Aiden was looking at me in admiration. "Wow, you're just as good as they say."

I didn't feel like asking what he meant by that, so I just replied with a shrug and asked, "But what does this have to do with Shifting?"

"Well, the scientists that went to extract the Nucleon found something else unexpected."

"What?"

"They discovered the Particles floating around in space.

My eyes widened. "No way."

"Yeah. They were using advanced technology to extract the nucleon. But, this also brought out the forms of Particles. Upon studying them, the scientists learned that traces of any material matter existed inside them. Soon, they learned to Shift them only by using their minds. However, only Aaron Clark returned alive from the mission. Not too long after that, he disappeared without a trace, hiding underground to test them further."

"And found out that Particles were in all objects on earth," I said, catching on.

"Exactly."

Aiden took in a deep breath, then removed his sweatshirt. It occurred to me that this was the first time I'd actually seen that his arms looked powerful, strong and muscular. A sliver of a tattoo showed under the sleeve of his black T-shirt. I took another sip of Coke as another question formed in my mind. Hoping the answer wasn't as troublesome to get to as the first one, I decided to ask it.

"Hey, Aiden, I have another question."

"What's up?"

"Well, just that…" I didn't know how to continue without sounding stupid. "When I was leaving to go to lunch, I noticed that you, like, vanished. What exactly happened?"'

He paused for a second, as if he was choosing how to answer. Then he opened his mouth to respond. But it never came as we both heard a sound outside our room. A group of people were walking down the hallway. I couldn't make out the conversation, but the giggles that happened every few seconds were unmistakable. When they were close enough that we could hear what they were talking about, a female voice, slightly muffled, said, "I've got this one. Hopefully it's not full of hot boys."

I met Aiden's fiery eyes, then, before either of us could react, the door opened. I whipped around to face it, and found myself looking at the surprised face of a girl. She had dark hair and eyes, a blue shirt, and black shorts. Then, her shocked expression morphed into an amused one.

"Oops," she said. "My mistake."

Two other girls appeared behind her, and then, without warning, they all burst out laughing. Aiden and I looked on incredulously.

"Uh, you know some people are trying to sleep, right?" I asked them, after they'd been laughing for a few moments.

"Wow, that was priceless," one of the girls wheezed. "You've got to realize by now that they all have hot boys!" Aiden and I glanced at each other again.

"Okay. Sarah, Danielle, go find another room. I got work to do," the one who'd opened the door said. They complied, chuckling.

"So, what are you doing here?" Aiden wondered skeptically after she closed the door.

"What? Oh, I'm just coming to get the I bring it down, I'll get your other clothes and bring them back here. But in the meantime, carry on. Pretend I'm not here or whatever." And with that, she walked down the short hallway and into the bedroom.

"I forgot they do that now," Aiden said.

"We've only been here for a day, though," I replied.

He shrugged. "I think they use this opportunity to bring new clothes to all the rooms." I nodded, remembering my drawer filled with shirts and pants.

We sat in silence for a moment, before he stood up stretching.

"When she gets out of here, I'm getting ready for bed. I'm beat," he said with a yawn.

I look at him in bewilderment. "Seriously? You've only been up for five hours."

"Dude, you're talking to someone who's been on Night Mode for four years." Aiden replied, going to retrieve his backpack.

"So, you've been doing this for four years?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

I was about to make a comment to that when I heard footsteps in the hall, and the girl appeared again, a small pile of clothes in her arms. She gave a quick smile to us, clumsily opened the door, then stepped into the corridor, kicking the door shut again.

"So, who was she?" I asked curiously.

"Lin," Aiden replied, walking toward the bathroom. "She's a little perky sometimes, but you'll get used to her."

"Oh, yeah," I say, rolling my eyes. "Like I could get used to someone who thinks I'm hot."

He stopped where he was and turned around, confusion written on his face. I wondered why, but then realized that my tone could've given me away. I really didn't want to discuss it, but it was hard to avoid those piercing eyes.

"Someone likes me," I admitted hesitantly.

He nodded like he knew that already. "Who?"

"A girl named Kaitlyn."

His eyes widened and he took a step back.

"What?"

"She's not the type of person you want to hang out with. You'd be best to stay away from her."

I smiled. "Won't be a problem."

With that, he walked into the bathroom, most likely to brush his teeth, while I made my way into the bedroom to put on my pajamas.

* * *

I wasn't someone known to have restless nights, but I found myself waking up, not knowing what time it was. Thankfully, the room wasn't pitch black, like my first night. Aiden had set the fan light to a soft blue color, not very bright, but just enough to be able to see and not bump into anything. I rolled over on to my side and reached for my phone on my dresser. But, being half-asleep and not sitting up, I only grasped part of it and almost brought it to me, before it slipped from my hand and fell onto the carpeted floor.

Not wanting to get up, I slid halfway off the bed to grab it. Except I had forgotten how close the dresser was to me and banged my head on one of the knobs. Then I lost my balance and fell from the bed and hit the floor, my face digging into the carpet. Getting back up, my brow furrowed and I almost screamed in frustration.

But I caught myself at the last second, not wanting to wake Aiden. Instead, I straightened the blankets, since I had dragged them when I fell, and looked over at him. Somehow, he hadn't been woken up from what had happened. Landing on the floor hadn't been particularly loud, but it should've been enough that he could hear it. However, he was still sleeping, breathing deeply in through his nose and out through his mouth. But a pained expression had crossed his face and he stirred, rolling over to face away from me; breath quickening slightly. I continued to watch Aiden inquisitively, before figuring that he was having a bad dream. Then, rubbing my head, I turned on my phone.

6:05 pm.

I still had a few hours before the next training session began, which, right now, was the best feeling in the world. Setting it back on my dresser, I lay down, smiling, and tried to get back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_4_

I woke up to a loud noise coming from my left. In fact, it startled me so much, I literally jumped out of bed. Heart pounding, I looked over to find Aiden clutching his chest and tapping something on his phone. The noise stopped.

"Didn't realize the volume was that high," he managed to get out.

"You set an alarm?" I asked in annoyance. "Why?"

"I sometimes oversleep," he replied with a shrug. "Decided not to let that happen this time."

"With the iPhone default ringtone?" I questioned in amusement. "Who uses iPhones anymore?"

This was something else that had changed. The phone companies that had been popular in the early 2000s were now replaced with new and improved ones. As far as I knew, most people had a type of phone called Photon. I never used any of the devices from a hundred years ago, but I knew none of them could measure up to the capacity of Photons. Going along with their name, you could charge them up simply by placing them under a light, such as a lamp or the sun. This was how you got service from them: by using their solar energy. They also had a high definition display, premium quality cameras and video recorders, and better sound. Their performance rates were like lightning.

"Don't worry, I'm getting a new phone next week," he said, rolling his eyes. "I've been saving up."

"How are you even getting the money?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Well, being in this program allows you to have a paycheck. I can't remember how much it is, but I know it's good, considering what we're able to do. But don't get your hopes up," he added to my look of excitement. "It's really only for the leaders to be able to provide for everyone training here."

My shoulders sunk slightly, but I nodded. Then a smile crossed my face. "It seems like we're cheating the system, being able to survive just from shape shifting."

Aiden also smiled. "There's a little more to it than that, but if we want to continue 'surviving' as you so eloquently put it, we'll have to keep training. And I'd rather not be late again, so we better get ready." With that, he walked out of the bedroom, and I followed.

Getting ready for the day, or night, technically, wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'd have to get used to sharing the bathroom and bedroom, but, nonetheless, we were out in half an hour. As soon as we stepped into the corridor, which was slowly filling up like yesterday, I made a left to go to the gym, but then heard Aiden call, "Woah, man! Where're you going?"

"To the gym," I said slowly. "Isn't that where we're practicing?"

"We can't today," he replied. "It's being worked on."

"At night?"

"Yeah, other people use it during the day, so they get the night-shift guys to renovate it when it's necessary. "But, we've got the field this time, come on."

I walked after him, wondering what he meant. After going down a few hallways, we came to a staircase, which led to another part of the school. I could see we were in a new hall that connected with a cafeteria, two bathrooms, and a couple of classrooms.

"So, this entire underground facility is below a high school?" I asked skeptically.

"Yeah, mostly. It also leads to the subway a few streets down."

"I don't understand. Why don't we use this instead?"

"It's abandoned," Aiden replied. "People would get suspicious if they found a large group of kids waltzing around."

I snickered slightly as we exited out a side door and began walking down the sidewalk of a long road. "So how did it get there? The facility, I mean. Because I have a lot of doubt it was just sitting around unused for years."

Aiden suddenly looked uncomfortable. "It's not my place to be telling you that, but you are right; it wasn't always there."

I was tempted to find out more, but he kept talking before I could.

"So, this time, I'll be showing you how to shift objects to make them reappear at different altitudes above the ground." He pulled up the hood of his black sweatshirt.

I looked at him. "How would that be helpful?"

"Well, if you're in a bind, you can drop a car on somebody. Actually, there's more to it than that, but it's the general idea," he explained.

I imagined having the ability to drop heavy objects on people's heads. "I thought we'd be doing normal things," I replied. Then my face lit up. "Like, when can I learn to use guns?"

Aiden chuckled. "Sorry, buddy. They really don't do that here. It's strictly geared toward Shifting."

"Bummer," I said with a smile.

At our pace, it took us a while to get to our destination, but we eventually arrived at a football field. Two sets of metal bleachers sat on either side of it, each behind the maroon strip of track. The tall overhead lights illuminated the entire area, revealing freshly cut grass that seemed off for an abandoned high school. A few groups of people were already on or flocking toward the field, ready to start training.

"So, we can't use the school, but we can use it's track," I ask in annoyance.

"Yeah, pretty much," Aiden replied with a shrug. "Come on, we only have so much time to do this, and if your ability is like other people I've seen, then we better get started."

I followed him, not exactly sure what he meant. However, in time, I wasn't going to have much of a chance to dwell on it. He led me to a spot on the field that was clustered with balls for just about every sport there was. Aiden then explained how to make objects reappear at different altitudes, saying you had to focus on an area of empty space and concentrate on it being there. After a few demonstrations, he allowed me to have a go. I took a deep breath, then stared intently at a football, bringing it into my mind. Immediately, the particles in my body lept into action, swirling around, causing me to feel slightly warmer.

When it began to glow yellow, I directed my gaze into the pitch black night sky. But, for, a moment, nothing happened. I looked back down to see the football still sitting on the ground.

"Why didn't it move?" I wondered.

"See, it's tricky with heights," Aiden said. "You have to be able to keep the image in your mind the entire time."

"I did," I protested

"I mean have the exact image of it in your head. It's hard to do that when you stop looking at it. So, the easiest way to do that is…" A slight buzz came from his back pocket. "Oop, hold on. I gotta answer this." He fished his phone out and started tapping on the screen."

While he was responding to whatever text he received, I looked around the field, taking in the groups of people working around us. My gaze fell on a girl who seemed to be doing the same thing we were. I watched as she looked at a basketball on the grass, then flicked her eyes up in a flash, toward the sky. The ball dissolved into Particles that floated up to where her gaze was, then combined to form it again, in midair. The basketball fell back to the ground.

After Aiden had returned his phone to his pocket, I was ready. Or, at least I thought I was. For some reason, it took way longer than it should've to perfect it. After what seemed like an hour, I locked my eyes on a volleyball, and feeling the rage burn, pointed my gaze up into the sky as quick as a whip, its image filling my brain. And finally, the Particles drifted up to where I was looking, reformed, and the volleyball landed back on the soft grass, bounced once, then stopped. I fell to my knees, panting.

"That must've taken a lot of work," I heard Aiden's voice say from behind me.

"You think?" I replied without turning around, breathing heavily and letting out a slight chuckle.

"Well, you did a great job anyway. But, now I have to teach you something else once you learned to do this."

Oh, boy. "What, shifting bigger objects into the air?" I asked in exhaustion.

"Not yet," he said. "Now we should work on shifting objects into any position, not just high up."

"Dude," I replied, still taking deep breaths. I could feel the sweat on my body and I didn't like it. "I'm too tired to keep doing this. I've never stayed up all night."

"Yeah, I felt the same way when I was first training, but you get used to it. Though, it's only 10:16, so we still have a while. If it's that hard for you, then we can arrange to have you go back home."

I stood up slowly. What he said made sense, and the constant shifting had done a number on me. And since that I'd only found out how, or that I could do this, it still felt uncomfortable and foreign, like trying a new food for the first time. But that didn't mean I wanted to quit, at least not yet. Since I had no other reason to be here, leaving would mean going back to my home a few miles away. Back to the school that I hated out of any other place I've been to; back to the work I did every day; back to those sleepless nights.

Back to all the guilt…

I didn't want to leave this place. Even if it meant I had signed to participate in a battle I didn't want anything to do with. It was better than going back. Cracking my knuckles, I turned to give Aiden a grin.

"Bring it on."

For the next few hours, I worked on shifting various objects to reappear at different distances away. This I found to be pleasantly easier. It started out with balls, and I found I could keep looking at them out of the corners of my eyes and still get them to shift. However, by doing it that way, it became harder to do it when I had to shift them farther away. But, I was quickly able to master it, even when he told me to put a soccer ball onto one of the bleachers on the other side of the field. After being able to shift objects across the width of the field, Aiden said it was 2 in the morning and that we should head back. Despite the thrill of the training, I was really exhausted, sweaty, and tired, the action of staying up all night finally catching up to me. I grabbed a water from the cooler they had set up and sloshed half of it down the second I opened it.

"Wow," I breathed. "Of all the things I was expecting when signing up, this definitely wasn't." I chuckled.

Aiden didn't reply, and after a moment, I looked over at him. He had a solemn expression on his face, or at least on the part of his face that wasn't covered by his hood. His fiery eyes were glazed over, and I wondered if he was in deep thought. I remembered how he'd been acting when he was sleeping, so was he dwelling on a dream he had? Then, I saw the gray wire leading from his hood to his pocket and concluded that he was just listening to music. But, I couldn't shake the feeling that he was holding something inside.

Since he hadn't seemed to have heard me, he said, "I have somewhere to go once we get back. You know where our room is and everything?"

"I think so," I reply. "But if not, I still have the map you gave me."

"All right, good."

We walked in silence for the rest of the way. Once we got back to the high school, Aiden turned to me for a fist bump.

"Later, man."

"See ya," I say, returning it.

He continued down the side of the building and went around a corner out of sight. I was going to open the side of the door, before I heard a voice behind me.

"Jason!"  
I looked back to see Katilyn jogging toward me, coming back with the last few groups of people. I thought about ignoring her and hurrying back to my room, but she caught up to me before I could do anything.

"What's wrong?" I ask skeptically, trying to hide my annoyance.

"Why do you have Aiden as your trainer?" She asked, hands on her hips.

I hesitated, surprised that she knew him. "Uh, what are you talking about?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Don't lie. I saw you with him on the field."

I figured that no matter how much I tried to dodge it, Kaitlyn would keep coming up with ways to say what she wanted. I took a deep breath and said, "Look, I don't know how I ended up with him, but it's not a big deal. I went to our first practice in the gym yesterday, and Ryan told me he would teach me. Why do you want to know?"

She shook her head. "How can you even trust him? He's such a jerk."

My brow furrowed. "What makes you think that?"

"You don't know, do you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Know what?"

"Aiden used to be in the Eastern Militia. They had a bad reputation after the Nucleon War. They were rather secretive; little to no news would be found on them. Until, of course, government officials did some investigating. They'd hacked the federal system to find out what they were hiding, gave the president bad publicity… stuff like that. But they never took kindly to members that were believed to have certain… powers."

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly.

"Most of the Eastern Militia were Shifters. Put them in public and think about how normal people would react."

"So, what did the Shifters do?"

"It's not what the Shifters did," Kaitlyn replied darkly. "It's what the others did. Telekinetic powers may sound cool, but many people see them as disturbing and dangerous. They wanted Shifters to be wiped out, killed. The Shifters had no choice but to defend themselves."

The beginning of the conversation was lost to me now. I was intrigued to know more. "What happened?"

"Aron Clark, the guy who invented Shifting, didn't want his discovery doing this. So, to settle everyone down, he brought the Shifters into hiding, and lied, saying that he took them all down, like he murdered them. Which brings us to where we are now."

"And what does Aiden have to do with all this?" I asked, bringing back the point of all this. "There's no way he was in the military. He's only like, what, 17? You can't join until you're at least 16, and he's been with the Shifters the entire time."

Kaitlyn put her head down. "To protect the Shifters, he had to do certain things. Horrible things that I shouldn't even say out loud. Aiden's not who you think he is; he's much worse."

I scowled as my brain ran through the process of analyzing her statements. It decided to not believe her, because I definitely couldn't.

"You're lying," I said, disturbed. "How do you know that? Where did you get all this information from?"

She smiled slightly. "It really doesn't matter. Let's just forget about Aiden and the wrongs he did. Why hang out with him? Don't you want to spend more time with me?"

I was taken aback. She really did want to be my girlfriend? It was something that I wouldn't or couldn't allow.

"I think I'll pass, thanks," I responded curtly. And with that, I turned around, opened the door, and walked through before she could reply.

And almost walked straight into Jam.

"Oop, sorry," I said, hastily shutting it behind me.

"It's cool," he replied with a chuckle. "Not as surprising as having a tree fall on your head."

"So, that's what your group is doing?" I asked, connecting the dots. "Making objects reappear in midair? I didn't see you on the football field."

"We were practicing on the other side of the school," he explained, walking toward a door that would lead downstairs. I followed. "There's big open space there, wide enough to do some shifting. And yeah, we were shifting things to reappear in midair. Mainly trees. Sometimes over our heads without warning."

We began navigating the many underground corridors as I said, "Why would they do that to you? That's so dangerous."

"I thought so too," but he figured if we were to get used to training in bad conditions, that's what we should do. And for increasing our reflexes."

I shook my head. "Not even Aiden did that to me, and you said he was the best."

Jam shrugged, then said, "How is he? I mean, like, what do you think of him, even though you only knew him for two days, but-"

"Well," I start, then falter, not sure how to choose my words. Eventually, I just went with, "He seems cool, but a little quiet. And in deep thought."

"I guess it comes with the territory," Jam replied. "You know, like, training as if you're going into war, completely flipping your schedule upside down."

"Yeah, maybe," Although what Jam said made sense, I couldn't help but dwell on what Kaitlyn had said. This led to a startling realization. If she'd been right about Aiden having done bad things, could we be thinking about his actions? It seemed like a possibility, but, at this point, I didn't know what to believe.

"Ah, there he is," Jam said suddenly. I continued walking through the crowded corridor before I realized that he wasn't with me. Turning around, I saw him looking down a hallway branching off to the right. A second later, he disappeared into it.

I made my way back and followed him as he went past small groups of people, apparently having found someone. I was going to ask him who he saw that he recognized, when I saw him. At the other end of the corridor stood a guy talking to Ryan. As soon as he caught sight of Jam, he ended whatever conversation he was having with him, and started coming our way, Ryan heading off in the other direction. He looked like he was 17 or 18, and had light brown hair, a white T-Shirt, and tan cargo shorts. But, the weird thing was that he seemed to be growing as he got closer to us. Then I realized he was just tall. No, really tall. He was easily 6 foot 3.

"Hey, Alex," Jam said.

"What's up Jam?" His voice came out as a deep rumble.

"Nothing much. I dropped trees on people."

Alex smiled. "I see nothing's changed around this place. But you have Michael as your trainer, right?"

"Yeah," Jam replied. "Most of the kids actually kind of like him, but the sane ones, such as me, see there are definitely better trainers around. Like Frank."

"Frank? Really?" Alex asked with a laugh. "He got beat up by Mike in the Shifter's Tournament, like, three times."

"Yeah, but no one throws a hockey stick like him," Jam protested.

"Very true. So, anyway, how're you holding up with the Night Mode schedule?"

"Still getting used to it. I'm actually pretty tired right now," he said with a slight yawn. "But totally an experience."

"It's necessary, though. Very important that non-Shifters don't know about us. Way too risky."

Jam nodded. "I hope we start doing more safer things though. How about putting a basketball in the air."

I had not said a word throughout their entire conversation, but, now I opened my mouth to ask what was going on. However, Jam beat me to it.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," he gestured to me. "Alex,this my friend Jason. I met him yesterday."

He looked down at me with a grin, and extended a large hand. "How's it going, Jason?"

I shook his hand, taking in the strong grip. "Not bad. But I'm exhausted and hot from our session."

"Yeah, shifting can do that to you, but the more you practice, the less it will happen."

I nodded. "I hate sweating, though. It's so annoying."

"I feel you man," he replied. "But we all went through it. You're not alone in that."

Jam opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. Alex took notice.

"By the way, Jason, would you be willing to allow Jam to sleep in your room tonight?" He asked.

"Sure," I say, not expecting that. "Why? Did something happen to yours?"

"You bet," Jam replied. "Our ceiling caved in."

"Wait, what?" I cried out. "How could that happen?"

"Well, considering if you sleep in a place that hadn't been used in 15 years, it's pretty self-explanatory."

"I thought this place was newly created," I said suspiciously.

"It was," Alex replied. "Or at least most of it. Some of the areas with the bedrooms were already around when we first got here. That includes me and Jam's.

"Oh, ok," I said, the gears whirring in my mind.

"All right, I have to run. See you guys later," Alex said. He gave both of us a fist bump and walked off.

"So, who's Alex?" I asked Jam after Alex had left.

"My brother," he said. "If you have siblings, then the ability to shift goes with them too."

I didn't have a sister or brother, so I said, "I wouldn't have guessed." I shook my head. "He's huge."

"You think he's big?" Jam asked with a laugh. "Just wait until I'm done growing."

"Oh, wow," I said, chuckling. "You'll be, like, seven foot."

We both laughed as we reached my room.

"Say," Jam exclaimed. "Do you have GameStation?" He was referring to the most popular online gaming software in the world.

I shrugged. "Maybe. I never bothered to check out our TV."

"You probably do. We could play Mario Kart."

"Mario Kart?" I asked incredulously. "That's so old."

"Oldies, but goodies," Jam replied. "Come on, just a few races."

"Dude, I was sweating like crazy out there. I want to take a shower at least. And something to eat. Then we can play."

Jam sighed with fake exasperation. "Fine. But make it quick."


	5. Chapter 5

_5_

One 10-minute shower, a cheese sandwich, and five lost races to Jam later, Aiden finally came back. He appeared to be concentrating on something his phone was providing, so when he put it away, he looked surprised to see us.

"Oh, I thought you'd be sleeping," he said to me as he shut the door.

"I probably would've," I grumbled. "If it wasn't for this guy's prowess with a controller." I gestured to Jam.

"What can I say," Jam replied with a grin. "I love video games. I could probably beat the creator of this one with my eyes closed."

Aiden walked over to us and looked at the screen, which had just displayed the overall score. "No kidding. He's good."

I pretended to scoff. "That doesn't count. I haven't done anything like this in years."

"Then start practicing," Jam said smugly. "And you might beat me."

I returned the expression. "Wanna bet?"  
Aiden rolled his fiery eyes and smiled as if he was dealing with two children who wouldn't stop arguing with each other. He started to walk toward our bedroom, before turning around, looking like he just realized something.

"You're Jam, right?"

Jam looked up at him and nodded.

"I know your brother."

Jam's eyes widened. "Really, how?"

He shrugged. "I trained with him. He was always talking about how you didn't seem to have any shifting abilities. I'm guessing Alex was wrong about that, since you're here."

"Yeah," Jam replied. "I'm a Shifter. It's fun training and all, but I hate my teacher."

"Who is he?"

"Michael."

Aiden chuckled. "I can see why. He's annoying."

"Definitely. He pretty much had us dropping trees on each other."

"That's a little extreme, even for him."

"There's just one thing I don't get," I jumped in. "I was only working with footballs and soccer balls. How come you guys automatically went to trees?"

Jam shook his head. "No idea. I guess Mike figured that they'd be a good size to use. But trees are pretty hard to shift."

"Living things are complicated like that," Aiden agreed.

"So, do we have an air mattress in here or something?" I asked him.

"I don't know, why?"

"Because Jam's sleeping with us this one time around."

His eyebrows raised. "How come?"

I rolled my eyes. "Long story."

He shrugged. "Well, I'll go check our closet."

He walked down the hall and into the bedroom. I stood and went to the fridge for a drink. Although it came with a variety of juices, I was really only in the mood for water. Taking a sip of one of the tall bottles, I looked back at Jam.

"You want a snack or something?"

He glanced up. "No thanks. I had a big lunch. They were serving lasagna, different types of pasta, meatballs, and a few other foods in the cafeteria. It was like Italian Central there. Pretty hard to stop."

"Did they have pizza?" I asked with a smile.

"No, unfortunately. Which is okay with me, because I'm not that big of a fan of pizza."

"Huh, same here."

Aiden returned, holding a blanket. "Sorry, man. No air mattress or anything like it. You'll have to sleep on the couch." He tossed him the blanket.

"Oh, good. I thought you were going to say I'd have the floor," he replied, snickering. "But, hey, works for me."

With his job done, Aiden went into the bathroom, probably for a shower, and I walked into the bedroom to call someone.

For the next week, or so, I trained intently with Aiden, strengthening my shifting powers. No matter how many times I practiced it, though, it remained alien and disturbing, preventing me from getting used to it. Changing physical objects, some huge, into other objects was one of the craziest things I've ever seen, not counting living under a high school. But the more I did it, the less overheated I started to get, which was allowing for greater potential. I could turn anything as big as my room into a pencil if I felt like it.

One of the more harder lessons I went through, and the one I hated the most, was putting things into different positions in an enclosed space, like a cellar or a building.

Or our gym, of all places.

"The idea is to focus on an area of empty space and think about the object being there," Aiden had explained. "Like this."  
He stared at a pillow on the ground; softer objects were required for this session, and flicked his eyes up at the ceiling. It burst into Particles, which reassembled in his line of vision. The pillow fell back to the ground.

"Ready to try it?"

I nodded, though unsure, and he put the pillow back where it had been, with his mind. I concentrated on it, and looked at one of the walls in a flash. I had mastered the ability to keep a picture of the object in my mind, but that was the easy part. A second later, the pillow reappeared, half buried in the smooth bricks. I looked on incredulously. Aiden chuckled slightly, and I didn't blame him. It had looked completely ridiculous. He brought it back out, leaving a small dent in the wall, and I gave it another go. But that result, along with the following results, were the same. For some reason, the stubborn pillow kept getting stuck in the bleachers, the ceiling, or wherever else I looked. After a while, I was getting pretty heated up, literally and figuratively. Drenched in sweat, I gave a sigh of annoyance as Aiden took the pillow out from one of the windows.

"Maybe we should take a break," he had suggested.

"Ya think?" I reply with an exasperated chuckle, looking around the gym. "Wait, will anyone notice all the dents?"

His eyes swept the area. "I don't think so. They're pretty little."

"I thought the pillow went deeper than that."

He shrugged. "If I could explain it to you, I could, but even I'm not completely sure how it works when an object gets trapped in another."

So, that part I never really got a handle on. But the other abilities became pretty easy to use. My favorite one was creating and using Particle weapons. This was done by creating a large group of Particles and imagining them becoming a sword or axe. Then, they basically became the weapon. I'd asked him how Particles could become big enough to be seen by the human eye, but he had simply said that it was something else he didn't know.

"But the benefits of doing this are that they're easier to use and can go through any object, living or nonliving," Aiden had told me.

"Why don't they go through me, though?" I asked skeptically, since I'd tried poking myself a few times with my Particle sword, but it had only bumped against my arm.

"Because you're the one holding it," he explained. When I looked at him with confusion, he elaborated, "Consider the sword an extension of yourself. It's Particles are your Particles. And Particles of the same thing remain solid when they collide with each other."

I nodded. It seemed to make enough sense. After I'd gotten used to changing objects into Particle versions of themselves, we practiced fighting with them. This I liked even more than the actual shifting. And Aiden had been right; they were definitely lighter, practically weightless, and easy to use. Even though he showed me regular fighting techniques, it was still fun and made the time fly.

Throughout the week, I found myself continually trying to avoid Kaitlyn. If she still wanted to be my girlfriend, then I was determined to keep the distance between us, especially after what she'd said about Aiden. However, most nights of attempting this were useless; she'd follow me as if I was a light and she were a moth.

One thing I noticed about Aiden was that he'd started a weird pattern of behavior. Whenever he was training with me, or doing any type of Shifting, he seemed happy and really into it, no stress on his face. But, if he was in our room, making music, or walking through the annoying mess of corridors, he had the same expression on his face as he did the first night on the field: solemn, deep in thought. I now realized that it wasn't just a coincidence; something was bothering him. Times when he was sleeping were no exception. It was like he was dreaming about some horrible event he'd lived through. It disturbed me a little bit, but I had been a little hesitant to ask him about it. But, now I figured, it was probably best to find out sooner, rather than later.

My opportunity came after dragging my tired body to our room after long hours of Particle fighting and working out in the weight room. I'd never used a bench press before, and all my muscles were sore after trying to lift the bar so many times. The fighting had been harder, since Aiden said I was advancing faster than some of the other teenagers.

I opened the door to find him sitting on the couch, staring intently at his laptop. However, it didn't take him long to spot me out of the corner of his eye, and he closed it, smiling.

"Hey, man, what'd they serve this time?"

"Really, just fried chicken. But each piece was the size of popcorn chicken. I was okay with it. We could use a little more nowadays." I replied.

"Yeah," he agreed.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air as my insides squirmed with anticipation of what I was about to ask. But a moment later, Aiden began to stand up, probably to go back to the bedroom or something, and I realized it was now or never.

"Hey, uh, Aiden? I have a question for you."

He looked me in the eye as he sat back down. "What's up?"

I took a deep breath and let the words come out. "It's just that, when I see you and we're not training, or whatever, you have an expression on your face that's a little somber. I'm just wondering if something's on your mind."

His face suddenly became ill at ease and almost pained as he said, "No, I'm fine."

Oh, come on, don't do that," I replied with fake exasperation. "I've seen enough movies and read enough books to know that when people are like this, it isn't just nothing."

He sighed and looked down at his boots. "Well, I've just been dwelling on what happened before I became a Shifter."

I was instantly curious about what he would say next, but I held most of my questions back. "So, what did happen?"

"Well," he continued. "I was just like you. Just living around the house with my brother. My parents had a complicated relationship. It was where they'd be having a pleasant conversation one minute and storming out of the bedroom in a rage the next. My brother and I weren't affected by it terribly. He usually had basketball practice, or played it outside with his friends, while I did track and made music. There weren't any problems until my parents decided to join the military. Even now, I still don't know why they choose to do that, but that's when everything fell apart," Aiden paused for a moment, as I wondered what it would've been like if my parents had acted the same way.

"We received a phone call in 2106. Both of our parents were killed in action. It's unknown what they were doing, since the war had been over for a while. But, living through it wasn't easy. As hard as it was for me, it was worse for my brother. He'd tried to understand what was going on with our mom and dad, and to hear that they were gone really tore him up. And it's a little scary seeing someone you look up to distraught like that. To help us, we attended counseling and therapy sessions. While it wasn't fun going through it, the good thing was that we spent more time with each other. When our parents were home, he'd be out of the house for hours. But, after what happened, he chose to stay home to make sure I was okay. But he couldn't take it."

"What happened?" I breathed, hesitant to know the answer.

Aiden was now speaking in a low voice. "He killed himself. My parents died on April 17, 2106. My brother commited suicide two weeks later."

My mind filled with shock. This guy had lost his entire family in less than a month, with no one else to go to. In ways he wasn't aware of, I knew exactly how he felt. I opened my mouth to say something, but he wasn't done.

"And what's more, he even asked me if I could handle myself an hour before he died. Which, I could. I was doing fine, fending for myself in a way. But, I guess he would've stayed alive if I couldn't."

I sat down next to him, keeping quiet. His gaze was still aimed down at the floor, and he looked solemn, even a little terrified. "I'm really sorry to hear that."

He gave me a sideways glance. "Thanks, man."

"I know what you went through, though. My dad was killed in the military too."

Aiden looked at me in surprise. "I'm sorry too."

I nodded. "But, how'd you end up with the Shifters?"

He looked away again and ran a hand through his hair. "It almost never happened. After my brother died, I was living alone. It was harder to go on then I thought. I was confused, afraid, and in deep depression. I would've gone the same way he did if they didn't find me."

"Who?"

"Aaron Clark and a couple of other men, whom I can't remember. They had sensed my powers to be able to shape shift and took me in. They were my new family."

He took in a shaky breath and stood up, and there was a different sense about him, as if he'd put off a huge amount of weight. I could tell since I felt the same way after days off wanting to talk to him about this but not having the strength. It felt weird to me, becoming close enough to my trainer to discuss things this deep. But, I figured it was more than that. We didn't have to play the role of teacher and student all the time. I found nothing wrong with being friends. Adien turned to me.

"I'm only telling you this because I trust you. My other relatives lived too far away to be able to watch over me, so I never really told anyone this before. So, please don't say anything about it."

Had he really kept those events bottled up for years? I found it impossible. "Sure, Aiden."

"And if you need to talk to me about anything, come to me. Giving up everything to become a Shifter is hard. We understand. I don't just want to be your trainer. I want to be someone you can trust as well."

I smiled. "Of course."

With that, he took his laptop and walked into the bedroom.

The empty halls echoed with the sound of my footsteps as I ran, dwelling on what had just happened. I'd found Ryan in one of the corridors and we had struck up a conversation, talking about what we'd done during the week. I was beginning to tell him how I'd gotten a pillow stuck in the wall at least a dozen times, when Kaitlyn came storming up to us. Then, coincidentally, Ryan decided that he had to go see someone, which I wouldn't blame him for. If I saw her face, I'd probably say the same thing.

And she was, to put it mildly, not happy. After Ryan left, I found out Kaitlyn was still annoyed that I trusted Aiden, and, once again, began talking about the bad things he did. I still didn't believe her, so we fought about it for a few minutes, which finally ended with her saying she was done with me. I was more than happy with that, but I stayed quiet until she was gone, then breathed a sigh of relief. It had been exhausting, trying to keep her away.

I was so deep in thought, that one minute I was aware of running down the corridor, the next I found myself on the cold stone floor, a painful throbbing in my neck, knees, and arms. Looking back, I saw that I'd slipped in a small puddle, created by water dripping from the ceiling. I shook my head and stood back up, brushing myself off.

_At least no one saw me_, I thought to myself. It must've looked pretty stupid.

But now, each step I took sent a dull pain up my thighs. Definitely not the way to go before having to participate in the Shifter's Tournament. I should probably explain what that is. The Shifter's Tournament is a competition where the trainers and trainees demonstrate their abilities they've learned so far and take part in a battle in the gym. There was no killing or anything related to that. The objective is to push your opponent out of the outer ring created by the basketball court. It sounded simple enough, but Aiden had told me about matches that could go on for 15 minutes. I didn't want to be fighting for that long, but he said that I'd be fine, considering all the things he taught me.

The good news was that, since the Shifter's Tournament was tonight, there were no training sessions. I'd spent most of the time wandering around the underground corridors getting myself familiar with the layout. Which was how I found myself late for the Tournament. Hoping I didn't miss anything important, I walked into the packed, rather loud gym. Squeezing through the throng of people closest to the entrance, the first thing I saw was a guy, who looked to be in his late teens, flying through the air, well out of the ring, on a collision course with the gym floor.

Just before he hit, however, he conjured a small air mattress from a nearby tennis racket. Everyone in the bleachers and standing around, went wild with cheers as I heard snippets of, "Frank did it!" and, "Finally, he beat Michael!" I looked back at the guy, who had rolled off the air matress, running a hand through his hair in slight exasperation. He must be Jam's trainer, Michael. I couldn't help but give a smile of satisfaction, imagining how Jam's face when he saw that. As someone I couldn't see announced two more people to the nearest prepping area, I made my way to the set of bleachers I was closest to and climbed up to a row near the top so I could see everything. These bleachers, as well as the ones across from me, were where the participants sat.

I knew that it wasn't my turn until 10 pm, and right now, upon checking my phone, it was only 9:16, so I still had some time. Vaguely wondering who I'd be facing, I watched as the next fighters came into the ring. Immediately, a huge cheer started around the gym that seemed to be directed at the guy than at the girl. I guessed he must be popular around everyone. But, wait. The girl looks familiar. I looked at her more closely, and sure enough, there was no mistaking the long dark hair. Lin was staring her opponent down, arms crossed, a stoney look on her face. He smirked slightly, and then a buzzer sounded, so sudden and loud, that I started.

Lin looked down at the various objects that were off to the side, and one of the pole vaulting poles burst into Particles. They drifted over to her hand and reformed into the long, thin shape. Only they didn't solidify. My heart skipped a beat and I was instantly more interested in seeing this match. The guy, whom I heard somebody call Tyler, summoned a cluster of Particles to him from a baseball, which took on the form of an axe, and charged Lin, brandishing it out.

She waited until he got close enough, then brought her pole up to counter his blow. The two began to duel, slashing at each other, continually blocking, and trying to find openings. But as good as Lin was at countering, she was getting quickly pushed back to the edge of the ring. Right when it seemed as if she would step over the line, she bent her knees, and side- stepped around him. She turned around as the pole solidified and jabbed it at Tyler's stomach, hoping to push him over.

Lin wasn't quick enough, though, and he created a wall of stone from one of the basketball hoops, leaving the pole to simply bounce off the rock. Before she could react, the stone turned into a long piece of rope already tied and wrapped around her body. Tyler went forward as she fell to the floor after losing her balance. As the crowd went wild with cheers and shouts of excitement, I felt simply amazed. It seemed shocking how quick and skillful someone could be with this ability.

Lin rolled to the side to avoid his swipe, and then the rope transformed into the shape of a sword that countered Tyler's next blow. Slowly, she stood up, trying to force a strike. But he was stronger, and the axe began to slide down the blade. Just before it reached her hand, her eyebrows creased, and the axe turned into a stone one. Now that it was a solid object, it could no longer be held back by bare Particles. From his momentum, he fell forward, crashing to the gym floor, the axe flying out of his hand.

She took a step back to catch her breath, but that turned out to be a big mistake. The sword in her hand deconstructed into a trail of Particles that flowed into Tyler's, taking the form of a gun. He aimed it at her chest and shot, producing a small ball of Particles. I watched in astonishment. It had never crossed my mind that it was possible to use a weapon like that out of Particles, but it was happening right in front of me. The projectile moved too fast for her to move, but the white headband that she'd been wearing glowed, and the ball simply bounced off her chest, pushing her back a few feet. I looked on, perplexed, wondering where they got something that could deflect Particles.

I didn't have much time to dwell on it, because Tyler was shooting continuously now, creating a constant stream of the Particle bullets. This time, Lin was ready and swung a new sword in complicated patterns, attempting to deflect them. However, once again, she wasn't fast enough. While she was doing really well at keeping them at bay, plenty still got through and struck her again and again. They didn't harm her, but they sent her tumbling backwards. Eventually, she couldn't keep up with the constant stream of Particle bullets, and got pushed back until she landed on the ground, just outside of the ring. Everyone went wild with hoots and whistles, chanting Tyler's name. Lin remained on the floor, breathing heavily, eyes wide. I couldn't imagine how tired she felt; it must've taken some serious reflexes to be able to hit those bullets like she did.

Tyler soaked in the praise for a moment before he walked over to Lin and held out a hand. She looked at him in surprise, then managed a little smile as she let him pull her up.

_Wow, he's good_, I thought as they went back to the bleachers on the other side.

After that, a series of matches ensued, most of them not really sparking my interest. They included two people firing Particles bullets at each other until they both ended up outside the ring, a couple of skillfully equal sword fighters, and even one who used a hoverboard to ram into his opponent. I didn't feel like watching the other battles; I had no idea who these people were, so I let my brain drift away. I was already deep in thought when I heard my name and the word "prepping area" break through. I looked up in alarm , then got up, cracking my back after sitting in a slouched position for so long.

I hurried down the bleachers, then whipped my head to the right, and then the left, wondering where to go. But then I saw Ryan gesturing for me to come to him from the left. I walked over to where he stood by one of the gym entrances.

He nodded to me. "I thought you might be participating. It's usually the people beginning to become Shifters who do. Not that many of the older guys care much."

"Well, I guess it's for the best," I replied. "If I went up against someone experienced, they'd wipe the floor with me." I looked around, then back up at him. "So, how exactly would I prepare for this?"

"That's what I'm here for," he said as if it should be obvious. "I handle this side while my man Cliff does the other." He points over to the opposite side of the gym, where a guy with short dark hair is speaking to someone who looked to be about my age. He was probably the one I was going to fight. I turned back to him.

He held out a white headband identical to the one Lin had worn. "This is really the only thing we can give you. It prevents Particle objects from passing through you, but pushes you back if they hit."

"Yeah, I noticed," I joke as I fixed it around my head.

He smirked. "Good luck out there. And make sure you return in one piece. I'd hate to get sued over your injuries."

I registered confusion. "Wait, what?"

He waved me away. "Hurry, get on out there."

I rolled my eyes in amusement and turned around, walking into the ring. My eyes wandered up to the bleachers, passing over everyone watching, until they landed on Aiden in the top row, tapping out something on his phone. I gazed in wonder; somehow, I hadn't seen him at first. He sensed I was looking at him, and he took his eyes off the screen, smiled and winked at me, before returning them to his phone. Instantly, I became more confident and turned my concentration to my opponent, who'd already formed a Particle sword.

He had the appearance of someone expecting to do an intense weight lifting session: white tank-top, which had the name "Jake" on the front, gray shorts, and Nikes. His hair had streaks of red in it and he wore an overly confident look on his face. As soon as the buzzer went off, he ran forward, trailing his sword behind him. I stood my ground and waited until he got to me. He sliced his sword upward with great force, aiming for my face, but just before it hit, I ducked and stepped to the side, feeling the rush of wind like a helicopter blade as it went. It continued its course, from the momentum, and flew out of his hand and into the air. I ran in the direction of its descent, and shifted it into my hand just before it hit the ground. I spun around to face him, taking in the surprised look on his face.

This time, I rushed him and swung at his chest. He summoned another Particle sword into his hand to block my strike and we began to fight. The first thing I realized was that I'd made his same mistake: underestimating him. Jake may have been cocky, but he definitely knew his way with the sword. He seemed to sense exactly where I would strike next and be ready to counter it. After a moment, it became clear he was starting to take the offensive. I knew that if I had to try to block him, it would backfire somehow. So, I formed a quick plan. As soon as he launched another strike at me, I raised my sword to parry, but kept pushing into his. He did the same, and slowly, but surely, his sword began to make its way down toward my hand.

If it hit, then I would become vulnerable quickly. But my eyes flicked to the right for less than a second, catching the glimpse of a tennis racket, before returning to his. But the work was done, and I could feel the Particles gathering in my left hand, which was hidden behind my back. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. I swung my Particle racket around, catching him in the hip, and Jake flew off to the left side of the gym, rolled a few feet, and stopped just before the edge of the ring. I advanced on him and was about to give the last strike, when he threw his Particle sword at my face. It connected, but didn't hurt, and I felt a powerful force come from it, pushing me back hard enough to knock me off my feet. I spread my arms out to break my fall, but Jake had had enough time to get back into a standing position and create a new sword from a pair of baseball gloves.

And was now coming at me with full force. I braced myself and we began to duel again, slashing and trying to get the upper hand on each other. However, it finally ended when I struck him in the knees, causing him to stumble backward. Then, I swung my sword at his stomach, making him fall across the edge of the ring. I hadn't realized we'd somehow moved so close to it. The crowd burst into cheers, and I couldn't stop myself from grinning as I shook Jake's hand and walked back into the prepping area where Ryan was looking amazed.

"That was awesome, man," he said enthusiastically, high fiving me. "Especially when you shifted that tennis racket into your hand. He had no idea it was coming!"

I tried to look humble. "Thanks. Aiden's a great teacher."

"Yeah he is," Ryan said. "Oh, and I'll need the headband back." I realized I had started to walk away with it.

"Op, sorry," I quickly took it off and handed it back to him.

"No problem. Enjoy the rest of the tournament."

I walked back to my place in the bleachers, noticing that Aiden was gone, and dug a finger into my ear. The constant noise happening around me at high volume was not something I was used to. After watching the next several matches, I found they weren't as interesting as the ones before. Most of them, like Ryan had said, had more of the new guys fighting, and they weren't as drawn out as the others. A few had people who were at least 17, and those I paid more attention to. They all consisted of one person continually conjuring up stone walls to hide from his opponent, a girl completely dominating a guy, and two girls who kept laughing in the midst of their battle.

Then some matches had a combination of both beginners and experts, which usually ended up with the latter winning. But the one thing that stayed consistent was that Tyler went up seemingly the most times out of anyone else, and always beat his opponent.

_He must be a Shifting master_, I figured.

I was surprised when I heard my name get called again, and when I walked into the ring to see my opponent, my stomach dissolved. Tyler was standing there, Particle axe in hand. I conjured a Particle sword from one of the baseball bats and braced myself. Though, it actually went pretty well in the beginning; I was able to evade most of his attacks by blocking and dodging. However, he eventually brought a different weapon, a sword, into his other hand and started dual wielding. Aiden had never taught me how to do that, so I was totally caught off guard. It only took a few well placed hits before I was knocked out of the ring. Just like with Lin, he offered me a hand up, which I accepted. I wasn't too disappointed that I'd lost; I was having more fun watching the Tournament play out.

I saw Aiden go up twice. First, he battled a girl who was like a gymnastic master, flipping over him, and then a guy who kept running away from him. But, both were eventually defeated and he continued to advance. Alex also went up to fight a few times, and all three of his opponents were new, like me. Two he managed to beat easily, but the third gave him a hard time. But when it looked like Alex was going to win, a misstep cost him the match. It was about 45 minutes, but eventually the amount of fighters remaining lowered to 8, then 4, and finally 2. I was way more pumped for this battle between the two best swordsmen I'd ever seen.

Aiden stood across from Tyler, wearing the same stoney expression that Lin had had. But, this time, Tyler was no longer smirking, but simply mirroring Aiden's face. Just before the buzzer went off, they drew their weapons, and when it did, they charged. They met in the center of the gym, and began dueling at a skill level that I'd never seen before, striking and blocking, nearly too fast for me to see. But then, on one strike by Tyler, Aiden raised his sword to block it, but didn't let him go this time, digging in hard. Tyler was doing the same, and they stood inches from each other, trying to get the upper hand. After a moment, their swords slipped, and they both flew backwards, coming close to their sides of the ring.

Aiden stopped himself before Tyler did, and was already running back to him. Tyler barely had time to block the downward strike with his sword, and Aiden continued to push back, sliding him toward the edge. Right before he crossed the line, he launched himself forward, rolling under Aiden. He stood up and swung his sword at his back. But, Aiden was too fast and he ducked as it whooshed over his head. He turned around, and Tyler's sword reformed into a cinder block. Unprepared for the change in weight, he dropped it, giving Aiden time to strike him across the stomach. Tyler flew backward and landed on the floor with a thud, his sword flying into the air, as Aiden advanced.

At this point, the crowd was going even more wild with cheers and whistles, as was I, for these two experienced fighters, but I was happy that Aiden was beating this Shifting master in combat. Tyler stood up shakily, then formed a Particle tetherball pole and pitched it at him, with the speed of 100 miles per hour. Aiden just managed to do a dive roll to the side, but Tyler had already drawn not one, but two new Particle swords and was coming at him. Aiden also made another one out of a basketball, and they began dueling again with even more intensity from the dual wielding. They went like that for about half a minute, before Aiden leapt into the air and brought his swords down on Tyler's head. He couldn't block in time, and the blow caused him to fall to the ground. After he landed on the floor, Aiden shifted his and Tyler's swords into a Particle gun and began to rapid fire on Tyler.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anything he could do, and within seconds, Tyler slid out of the ring, breathing heavily, a shocked expression on his face. Everyone in the stands burst into cheers and ran out to congratulate Aiden. I couldn't stop smiling, since seeing Tyler winning so much had begun to get tiring. 15 minutes later, after the announcer had publicly revealed Aiden as the winner of the Shifter's Tournament and most of the crowd had cleared out, I found Lin and went to go talk to her.

"Hey, Lin," I said. "Good job out there."

She turned to face me. "Huh? Oh, thanks. Wait, I've seen you before. Don't tell me your name; I want to guess. Um… are you Jeffery?" I shook my head incredulously; I hadn't expected this to happen. "How about Jamie? No, you don't look like Jamie…"

"I'm Jason," I said quickly.

"Right, I knew it started with a 'J'. Aiden told me your name," she clarified to my confused look. "I guess he also told you mine."

"Yeah," I replied. "He's a great fighter."

Lin nodded. "You are too."

"I don't think so. I barely lasted a minute with Tyler."

She crossed her arms. "From what I've heard, he's been doing this stuff for years. We're just beginners."

"I suppose, but at least we know some sword techniques. And dodging techniques." I smiled.

She chuckled, then gestured over to a group of people I assumed to be her friends, and I nodded, allowing her to go over to them. I was just about to follow them into the stairwell, when a flicker of movement caught my eye. I looked down the hallway to see a wave of blonde hair disappear behind the wall on the left. It didn't take a genius to know that Katilyn was doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing. We weren't allowed in the school, unless we were passing through. I wondered if I should go back to my room, wait for Aiden, and tell him what I saw, but I wanted to handle this myself. Taking a deep breath, I made my choice and ran down the hallway to investigate.


	6. Chapter 6

_6_

I slowed down once I got to the corner, and tentatively poked my head around it. In the dim light, she was still visible, and I saw her turn into a stairwell at the end of the hallway. I waited a moment before jogging down to it, and catching the door with my foot. I heard the one at the top close with a soft sound, and my mind reeled with confusion. She'd scaled the stairs faster than I thought. Once I was sure Katilyn wasn't nearby, I went in. I trudged up the stairs as quietly as I could, despite the muffled thumps coming from vans with each step. MY nerves were stretched to the max as I half expected anyone to pop out at any second.

But eventually, I made it to the door, and opened it carefully, praying it wouldn't squeak. Thankfully, it didn't, and I slipped through, once it was halfway open. Voices I couldn't make out came from the left direction of the dark hall, so I closed the door silently, and continued toward the sounds. I couldn't help wondering how Aiden, or even Ryan, would react if they found out I was down here. Aiden had told me it was too dangerous, since they had people do daily checks on the area to make sure everything was okay, but I was suspicious on why Katilyn and someone else were here too. My thoughts then turned to my mom and what she'd think. She hadn't known I'd be doing things like this, and it would freak her out if she was told I got caught in this school. Then there was the possibility that she was a Shifter too…

I was so deep in thought, that I didn't realize I'd turned a corner, where the forms of two people stood talking to each other. I doubled back around, and put my back to the wall, heart racing. I wasn't sure if they had seen me, but if so, then I could be in big trouble. Once my breathing had gotten back to normal, I could make out their conversation.

"...so why are you here so early? I told you to come in a few hours," said a voice that I didn't recognize.

"I couldn't wait," replied Kaitlyn's voice. "This is really important, Tyler." My eyes widened. What was he doing with her?

"What is it?" Tyler asked.

"I spoke to Brandon. He says we have to do this thing soon."

"I don't care what he thinks," he responded distastefully. "We need to take this slowly, or they'll know something's up."

"Oh, come on," she said in annoyance. "There's no point in staying here any longer. Besides, I tried to get them to join us as inconspicuously as I could, but it didn't work." Confusion filled my mind. So she hadn't wanted to be my girlfriend?

"I see. Well, all right. We can do it soon. But, he owes me."

"Whatever," Kaitlyn scoffed. "I tell you, once we get out of this-"

"I know, I know, I feel the same way," he replied softly.

There were a few scuffling noises as if one of them was looking through a bag, while the gears whirred in my head. What could they be planning on doing? Why were they hiding it? I was about to consider more questions when I heard Kaitlyn gasp.

"How'd you get those?" She asked in awe.

"I'm just that good, baby," Tyler replied, and it sounded like he was smirking. Now I desperately wanted to peak around the corner to see what he was showing her.

"No doubt," Kaitlyn said. Then it sounded like she was a little disappointed as she added, "You should've won the Shifter's Tournament."

He sighed. "Aiden's gotten better than I thought. He's going to be a tough obstacle in the grand scheme of things."

"Yeah, but this should even the playing field."

"Indeed. You know how it works?"

"Yep. It's pretty ingenious."

"Alright. Now don't let anyone else see it. They're strictly banned in the Shifter community."  
Now it was Katilyn's turn to sigh, this time in annoyance. "I know."

"Good. Now, I have to go. We're having another meeting."

"Seriously? Right now?"

"Yeah," Tyler replied. "We're addressing important changes that are going on around here. Why don't you go back to your room and we'll pick this up later."

"Well, okay."

And with that, footsteps sounded as Tyler walked away. I could tell because they seemed to be growing quieter. Then the same thing happened with Katilyn, but instead of hers fading away, they started growing louder. My breath caught, and I sprinted back to the stairwell, not caring if I was heard. Opening the door just enough to squeeze through, I scooted back down to the first floor, into the hallway…

...and ran straight into Alex.

Luckily, he had quick reflexes, and he stepped to the side, putting a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

"Whoa, easy Jason. What's the- wait," he eyed me suspiciously. "You're not supposed to be here. What's going on?"

I returned the look. "I could say the same thing."

"I have a Shifter's meeting, man. We do them in the school, so they can be private. But what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, Jason, what _are_ you doing here?" Came Kaitlyn's snarky voice from behind. She'd somehow slipped out of the stairwell without a sound.

I spun around in shock, and eyed her with contempt. There was no way I could tell Alex what I heard without her denying it.

I put my head down. "I thought I saw something and went to investigate."

"Well, next time, you should let one of the leaders handle it. The school is off limits. Anyway, I'll see you late, Jason. You two should get back to your rooms." We watched him walk away and turn a corner, out of sight.

* * *

One thing I'd found out about Aiden during the week of training, was that he had the capability of falling asleep at any time and in any place.

And in any position.

I don't know if it was because of the Night Mode schedule, or the constant Shifting, but it could get rather ridiculous. Like, when I got back to my room 15 minutes after the short conversation with Alex, I found him lying on the couch, facing me, but his head was nearly hanging off the edge. His laptop sat on his stomach, rising and falling in time with his breaths. And judging by the bag of chips on the side table closest to me, he'd been sitting in the opposite direction. So don't even ask me how he managed to turn himself around like that in the first place.

Another thing I noticed was that he never snored. No matter the position he was in, and now wasn't an exception. Regardless, I knew that I wouldn't be able to talk to him now about Tyler and Kaitlyn. However, I did walk over to him and moved his body over a little so that he wouldn't fall off. I couldn't blame him for sleeping; it must've been tiring, the way he battled Tyler. I walked down to the bathroom, answered a quick text from my mom, and went in for a shower.

The warm water was refreshing against my back, and it came as a shock when I stepped out into the cooler air in the hallway. But, now that I didn't have dry sweat all over me, I flopped down on my bed, trying to figure out what those two were planning. A while later, I found myself beginning to dose off as well. I tried to stay awake, but eventually, my eyelids refused to stay open, and I succumbed to sleep. I don't know how long I remained that way, but I remember waking up to a knock on the door outside. I rubbed my eyes drowsily and got up to answer it. Surprisingly, Aiden was still sleeping, but my mind was too tired to question how the sound didn't wake him up.

"Jason!" Lin cried out when I opened the door. "I was wondering what happened to-"

"Shh," I hissed. "Not too loud. You don't want to come between a guy and his sleep."

"Really?" She peeked over my shoulder and snickered. "Just like my dad."

"Mine too," Jam said, who'd been standing next to her.

I looked back and forth between them. "How'd you two meet?"

"I knew Jam from middle school," Lin explained. "He was in a few of my classes. And kinda liked me."

"She's lying," Jam said, rolling his eyes. But he was smiling.

"I can see that," I replied with a chuckle. "So, what're you guys doing here?"

"Just wondering if you'd want to hang out," Jam said. "Lin's got her gaming system set up, and I have snacks."

"Sure. Should I bring something?"

"How about the sleeping beauty?" He asked with a smirk.

I looked back at Aiden, and held back a laugh. "Yeah...no. He'd probably kill me."

Jam and Lin laughed as they turned and began walking down to presumably her room. I was about to follow them, when I looked back at Aiden. He rolled onto his side, facing away from me. I shrugged, closed the door, and jogged to catch up with them.

* * *

"How are you guys so good at Fortnite?" I asked, putting my controller to the side in annoyance. We'd already done four rounds of the game, and I hadn't won any of them. But, it was more fun watching Jam and Lin go head-to-head with each other.

"Jason, we've been doing this for years," Jam replied, leaning back.

"I actually started a few weeks ago," Lin objected. "But my roommates aren't the best, so I never had a challenge until now." She stood up. "It's been too long; I'm getting the Cheetos." She pulled out the bag from Jam's backpack and opened it.

"Speaking of fighting, why weren't you at the Shifter's Tournament, Jam?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I didn't feel like doing it. But I heard what happened to Michael. He finally got beat by Frank."

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "I saw him fly out of the ring when I arrived."

"But, he made an air mattress to land on, so he didn't break his limbs," Lin chimed in.

"I'd expected that," Jam said. "Did you guys participate."

"Yeah," I said. "Though we both lost to Tyler." Suddenly his name made me remember. "By the way, I have something to tell you guys."

"What?" Lin wondered.

I took a deep breath and revealed the entire conversation Tyler had had with Kaitlyn in the school. Surprisingly enough, Kaitlyn had also gone to their middle school too, and, thankfully, they didn't like her either. They also found the mysterious object Tyler had given her suspicious and wanted to find out more about it, like I did.

"But what do you think it could be?" I asked.

"Beats me," Jam said.

"Same here," Lin added.

I shook my head. "Must be powerful if they have to discuss it in secret."

"Probably," said Jam with a shrug. "But let's not worry about this now. We can talk to Ryan tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night," Lin repeated with a groan. "I can't stand the Night Mode schedule. I'm always so tired now. It's aggravating."

"I feel the same way," I replied, yawning. "But I suppose it's a necessary evil. It must be pretty important for the Shifters to stay hidden."

Lin laughed. "Like working in the dark helps keep us hidden."

"But then we can use the field," I replied incredulously. "It's fun because we can go outside and stay cooped up underground."

"That's the thing that's wearing on me," Jam piped up. "To be honest, it gets a little boring."

"And that's why they gave us a TV and Wi-Fi," I responded.

"Are you just going to use the voice of reason, or will you tell us something you hate?" Lin said with a smirk.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, thinking. She and Jam chuckled.

Jam stood up. "I'm in the mood for a little World of Warcraft. You guys in?"

"I've never played that before," Lin replied, a blank look on her face.

"I have," I said. "Here, I'll show you."


	7. Chapter 7

_7_

The best thing about the weekend was that we had no training, but it usually meant walking around with nothing to do. There were a few recs rooms scattered around, big enough to encompass the entire population of 500 Shifters, but I was never interested in the games they had to offer. Most people would spend hours playing 3D Air Hockey, or Ultimate Pinball, but I just wasn't an arcade person. Back home, Saturday's were my life, since I could play Minecraft or hang out with friends, but times like those seemed to be over. However, I somehow woke up early again, like I always did. Upon checking my phone, it was almost 11 in the morning. I glanced over at Aiden, who was still asleep. Man, I don't know how he does it. Last week, it wasn't until 5 pm that he was up. It's probably because he's been using Night Mode for so long. All I can say is that it'll take a while before I get used to it.

Now, I found I couldn't fall back to sleep, so I rolled out of bed and left the room. I found my way to the stairwell that led into the school, and climbed the steps, regardless of knowing I shouldn't be going in the building. But, nonetheless, I traced the normal route we took when walking down to the field, until I got to the side door that led outside. It took a few minutes, but I eventually got down to the track where I first Shifted that volleyball into the air. I smiled as my feet finally touched the soft dry grass. It was warm standing in the sunlight, and a slight breeze blew in from the east, ruffling my hair. I breathed a sigh of relief as I lied down in the middle of the field, which had once been used for high school football and soccer games.

Amazing that 80 years go by and almost nothing changes. Aiden had told me that people still used the track and field for training and exercising, so the grass was always mowed to be kept short, and the track was repainted every year. It felt like they were still preparing for something big that would never happen. Interestingly, I found that sleep came easier out here than in my dark bedroom underground. Staring into the bright sky caused me to squint and close my eyes. And when that happened, my brain would usually shut down and, so I stayed there, trying to push the stress of everything that had happened away. I probably slept for an hour, before I got woken up by a familiar voice.

"Jason? What the heck are you doing here?"

I opened my eyes to find the silhouette of someone standing over me, but as my senses slowly registered everything around me, I thought I saw another person in the distance. Or, more like a group of people, standing at the end of the road leading to the field, watching us. I was suddenly alert, and got to my feet in a flash, taking a better look. But, by then, they were gone. I turned to face Ryan.

"What?"

"You know you can't be here now," he said.

"What about you," I replied in exasperation. I was getting annoyed about how stuck to the rules these guys were. I rubbed my head, which ached a little from lying on flat ground.

"Important business," Ryan replied, arms folded. "You should head back."

"What business?" I pressed. This was just like when I ran into Alex the previous night.

"Just things that the Shifter leaders need to get done," Ryan said vaguely. "No one else is allowed to know."

"Right," I mutter under my breath. "Well, I guess I'll see you later." I began walking back.

"See ya."

I scowled as I returned to the school. It was weird that I was beginning to find my friends in places at times when they shouldn't. It almost felt like some dangerous plan was being executed right under my nose that I wouldn't see coming until the last minute. I shook my head. No, they had reasons for all these rules, ones that would keep us safe. I shuttered slightly, wondering if there really had been people spying on us. They probably wouldn't think any of it, just a couple kids hanging out in the quiet morning. But, as I reached the door that led back into the school, I couldn't help looking back. The same group of people, who appeared to be about in their early twenties, were back again, and saw me enter the building.

* * *

"What do you think it is?" Aiden asked, biting into a sandwich. We were sitting in the cafeteria, where I'd told him about what I heard.

"I'm not sure, but they say it's powerful enough to stop you," I replied.

Surprisingly, he didn't look as concerned as I thought he'd be. "Did you tell Ryan?"

I snorted. "No."

Lin and Jam stare at me incredulously. "We agreed that we-" Jam started, but I cut him off.

"Ryan and the other Shifter leaders are hiding something," I said plainly.

"What makes you say that?" Aiden asked, a little defensively. I turned and looked him squarely in the eye.

"Well first, I ran into Alex after eavesdropping on Tyler and Katilyn, and he said he had a meeting in the school, which we're not supposed to be in. Then today, Ryan found me on the field and said he had something to do out there.

"You shouldn't be in those places either."

"Yeah, but neither should they."

He sighed and looked down. "Sometimes we receive jobs that require us to go into restricted areas, but they're only for everyone's protection. Shifter's can't be revealed to the public, not anymore."

"Good to know," I replied, rolling my eyes as I ate some more of my chicken.

"Well, I'll still look for anything suspicious," Aiden said. "Thank you for telling me everything."

I nodded, and he finished his sandwich, stood up, and left the cafeteria to go who knows where. Jam, Lin, and I ate in silence for a few minutes, before Jam looked up and his eyes widened.

"What?" Lin asked.

"Trouble coming," he whispered, barely audible over the chatter of people around us.

Lin and I turned around, and saw he was right. Kaitlyn was walking past tables, seeming to be headed for us. It also looked like she was alone. Which could make what might happen easier to handle.

"Come on, guys, we should leave," I said.

They didn't disagree. In less than 30 seconds, we had packed up our things and exited the cafeteria. I looked back as we rounded a corner in the hallway, saw she wasn't there, and felt the tension drain out of my body. But, I shouldn't have been so quick to lower my guard.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice came from the corridor perpendicular to the one we were in. My mouth, and Jam's mouth, both fell open in shock of how Kaitlyn had gotten there so quickly, but Lin merely frowned.

"What do you want?"

Kaitlyn returned the look. "That's none of your business, _Illine_. You'd better scram if you know what's good for you."

Lin gave a short laugh. "Yeah, right."

"Do you have a problem with us, Kay?" Jam asked in annoyance. "We were only going back to our rooms."

She looked at him and smirked. "I remember you. You're Alex's baby brother and a terrible hacker."

"It's called, jamming, Einstein. And, for the record, I'm one of the best there are."

"I don't have much care for 'jamming'," she replied, making quotes with her fingers. "My interest is more for dealing with traitors."

"I wonder where that came from," Lin wondered.

"That doesn't matter," Kaitlyn replied hastily. "What does matter is that you're not here for the reason you think. Everyone, who has brought you here, is on the wrong side of things."

Jam's and Lin's faces change to confusion, but I just furrow my brow. I recognized what she was talking about. I've heard people use similar words. My mouth opened to give a response to that, but, just then, Tyler showed up behind her.

"Something happening here?" He asked skeptically.

From another person's perspective, this would've looked like a tense and interesting standoff. It looked certain that an actual fight would break out, but Kaitlyn put a stop to anything before it could happen.

"Okay, all of you, just leave," she said loudly and firmly. "This is only between him and I." She pointed at me.

Lin and Jam were about to say something, probably a protest, but Tyler looked at them hard, and they backed off. The three of them went off in seperate directions, Tyler going one way, Jam and Lin going another, leaving me with Kaitlyn.

"I know you're lying about Aiden being in the Eastern Militia," I hissed, moving in close.

She raised an eyebrow. "How are you so sure?"

"He told me what happened to him before he joined the Shifters," I replied. "None of it included the military."

"Then, what did happen?"

"Like I'd tell you."

She nodded like that was a fair statement. "Well, either way, you shouldn't trust any of the Shifter leaders. They're not being honest with any of you; they're hiding a big secret."

So, she saw that too? "I can't trust you either," I countered. "You're concealing something too."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I think I do," I said. "Don't act like you weren't discussing something big with Tyler just one day ago."

She frowned, taking a few steps back. "I knew you weren't in the school for no reason." The drawstring bag she'd been carrying reformed into a Particle sword in her hand.

I figured it would come down to this. Glancing around the corridor, my eyes searched for something to shift, but it was pretty empty. Kaitlyn looked like she was about to charge, but before she could, someone called her out.

"Kaitlyn what are you doing?" I recognized the voice as Ryan's.

We both turned to see him coming toward us from another corridor.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she replied with a sneer.

"Looked you were about to attack Jason, or something," he responded smoothly. "You'd want to reconsider that."  
"For now," she said simply, the sword Shifting back into her drawstring bag. Kaitlyn glared at us as she walked away.

"Thanks," I said awkwardly to Ryan, as we went off in the opposite direction.

"No problem, man," he said. "She can be a real jerk sometimes."

I looked down. "More than that actually.

We reached another intersection in the corridors, and Ryan turned right just as I started to go straight. I looked back.

"Where are you going?"

He stopped. "I have a Shifter's meeting."

Confusion filled my brain. "Really? You already had one yesterday. What're you discussing this time?"

Ryan shifted his feet slightly. "That's not for you to know." And, before I could respond, he turned around and continued down the hall.

I shook with rage. Being surrounded by these secrets, even in a little amount of time, was starting to get tiring and aggravating. Clearly, the Shifter leaders were hiding something, and I was dying to know what. I knew Kaitlyn and Tyler were too dangerous to trust, so I figured finding out what the leaders were doing could reveal if they were trustworthy enough. Something bad could happen to the Shifters, and it was important to find a side to be on if it did.

So, I waited until Ryan had turned another corner, and began to follow him. This turned out to be a little complicated, since the halls were filled with few to no people at all. But, because of this, I had to make sure he was at a distance so he wouldn't notice too easily. At one point, he began to glance back over his shoulder, and I had to hastily duck behind a corner he'd passed.

Eventually, we reached a staircase that led into the school, and I used the same strategy that I'd used with Kaitlyn: I waited until he reached the top, and then crept up after him. Upon reaching the top, I checked through the windows in the door, making sure Ryan wasn't too close, then opened it and slipped through. I closed it quietly, and saw him make a turn at the right end of the hall out of the corner of my eye. I jogged quickly to catch up, and began to hear the faint sound of voices from down a side hallway. I inspected further, noticing one of the doors was slightly ajar, and the voices were much louder near it. I opened it just enough for me to squeeze through, and found myself in a dark room.

As my unprepared eyes adjusted, I could make out a row of school desks stacked from floor to ceiling. However, near the wall, there was an opening wide enough for two people to walk through side by side. The voices were definitely coming from behind them, but, from my position, I could only see a corner of the rest of the room beyond the desks.

Even though the chance of me being seen was great, I stepped quickly past the opening and behind the desks that were right up against the smooth, brick wall. Now, I was able to see what I was hoping for, a group of people were seated in chairs that were assembled in a only ones that were recognizable were Alex, Ryan, and Aiden, even if everyone was wearing the same sweatshirt and had the hood pulled up. Moonlight shone in through windows on the side of the room I was in, revealing everything in front of the desks, but leaving the area I was standing in obscured in shadows. Which was good for me, because it meant they couldn't see me. With this in mind, I allowed my ears to register the conversation happening right now.

"...so from what I've been seeing, our enemies are pretty powerless against us," Ryan said. "They're completely outnumbered, stranded on the East Coast, and are close to being found in whatever state they're in. Soon, we won't have that looming threat anymore."

"But, don't you think it's suspicious," asked someone with a heavy voice. "I would think that if they were hopelessly outmatched, they'd turn themselves in."

"No, Brandon's too smart for that," Ryan replied, and that name struck me with a realization; it was the same guy that Kaitlyn and Tyler had talked about. "But, he wouldn't be strong enough to face all of us."

"To that note," someone else chimed in. "Why did we gather almost 500 Shifters over the last few years? We never needed that many."

"Yes, you're right," Ryan replied. "In most cases, asking that many high schools to join us is too great. But, Brandon would've found some way to find them and convince them to join him. It was important to make sure all of them are on our side, not just so they're not used against us, but also for their protection."

"But, why did we say that they'd be joining the military?" Alex questioned. "Wouldn't it have been better if we came clean right up front in the text?"

"Well," Ryan explained, "Most parents aren't actually Shifters at all. Only carriers. And since the kids had to get permission, I figured it was safer to say they were joining a part of a secret team the army created."

"Either way," Aiden said, and I directed my attention to him, but he'd directed his gaze down, causing his hood to cover the top half of his face. "It's actually good that we have so many. I've heard some information that I feel I should share."

"Go ahead," Ryan said with a nod.

"One of the Shifters informed that Kaitlyn and Tyler have something planned for the Shifters, something that could even things out."

"Are you saying they're with Brandon?" Asked the guy with the heavy voice.

"I'm not sure, Frank," Aiden replied, and my eyes widened. I hadn't known Frank was one of the leaders. "That's what I'm guessing."

"Who told you this?" Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow. I wondered why Aiden hadn't said my name in the first place.

He took a deep breath and let it out. "Jason."

"Why does he think that?" Ryan asked in surprise.

"He claims to have heard them both talking about it in the school."

"So, that's why he'd been in there," Alex said with comprehension.

"He was also on the field the following morning," Ryan added.

"What was Jason doing?" Another guy asked.

He shrugged. "Nothing important."

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Frank wondered. "We'll be exposed if he keeps on doing things like this." I clenched my fist in anger.

"Yeah, I'm not really buying into the fact that Tyler and Kaitlyn have a weapon that could wipe out the Shifters," one of the guys said.

"Me neither," another agreed.

"We'll look into this later," Ryan concluded. "We have a few other things we need to bring to light."

That's when I decided to leave. I slipped through the door and made the long trek back to my room in disgrace. I was annoyed that not only had they lied to us about more things than I thought, they were now also suspicious of me. This was going to make it harder to find out what Kaitlyn and Tyler were hiding.


	8. Chapter 8

_8_

After getting Jam's phone number the following night, I'd been texting him all week about how much I knew and what I would find out. To my surprise, he wasn't very concerned about the military scam, or the fact that the Shifter leaders had been talking about enemies of some kind. His only reply was that they had their reasons for keeping these things from us. But I wasn't going to be satisfied that easily. Every chance I got, I wandered through the underground expanse, trying to find any hints to what they were doing. I would've gone back into the school to spy on their meetings, but I figured it wouldn't be long before they caught me, so staying within boundaries was my only option.

Alas, my attempts to find out their actions proved to be in vain. Most of the time, if I was able to eavesdrop on any of the leaders, their conversations weren't particularly helpful, since they usually talked about training, food in the cafeteria, or what was going to happen over the summer. That part got me wondering too, since, a few weeks ago, I never thought I would be staying here that long. Another problem was that barely any of the Shifter leaders were around. Most of them, including Aiden and Ryan, had gone out for a special mission, as Frank had told Alex the other night. This got the gears turning in my brain, and I wondered what they could possibly be trying to accomplish.

And speaking of Frank, since Aiden wasn't around, he became my new trainer for the time being. But this time, I wasn't completely alone. Jam had somehow gotten the okay from Michael to go to training session with me, so tonight we practiced Particle fighting. And, while I know I shouldn't be so quick to judge, Frank wasn't the best teacher out there. We were one of the groups who had the gym, so he'd walked in wearing a black leather jacket and worn out jeans, telling us to simply fight for 15 minutes. And, the entire time, he just sat on the bleachers, chatting with other people and scrolling through his phone. I'd thought we'd be learning new things, but I guess we're past that now.

However, I had seriously underestimated Jam and his fighting abilities. It occurred to me that this was the first time we'd used Particle weapons against each other. We did about three rounds and all of them ended with me losing, nearly outmatched, to him. I tried using unique strike patterns that Aiden had taught me, but Jam must've seen them too, because he knew exactly how to counter them. Michael had taught him well. Besides looking for the Shifter leaders, I also tried to spy on Tyler and Kaitlyn to see if they were doing anything suspicious. It was kind of funny; a week ago, I'd been trying to stay away from her, but now, I was continually looking for them.

But, they were extremely careful; not once when I was watching them did they talk about anything related to the discussion they had in the school. This was getting me rather confused. I thought they'd reveal something, but they never did. I didn't know who to trust now. I wasn't able to worry about that too much, though. From all the Shifting I've done so far, I still never got the hang of putting objects at different positions inside a room. I practiced it as much as I could, but it failed to work out. The objects I used always became half embedded in a wall or ceiling, which just fed my agitation.

So, tonight, I was planning on giving it another try. But, I knew that Frank wouldn't be much help, when he said he had to leave for something. So, I was on my own with it. I shook my head in annoyance as the other groups , including Jam, went off to lunch.

"I haven't seen you in a while."

I turned around to see Lin coming.

"I've been busy with things," I said vaguely, not really wanting to talk about it.

But she wasn't letting it go. "Jam was texting me. You're still spying on people?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well, not exactly…"

"Not exactly?" She repeated, frowning. "'The leaders weren't discussing anything important, just how weird the roast beef tastes'. And you're not exactly listening in?"

I slapped my forehead in annoyance. That was the last thing I'd said to Jam. "Okay, well," I replied, angrily. "I don't like that they didn't come clean in the beginning. I'm just trying to see what else they're hiding from us."

"And speaking of hiding things," she retorted. "If Kaitlyn and Tyler were planning something, don't you think it would've happened?"

"Well, yeah," I said, unsure of why she was bringing that up. "But they're just being smart about it."

"Or maybe they don't have any way of doing it?"

My eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Lin sighed. "Tyler and Kaitlyn could've been lying. I mean, how are they going to take down all the Shifters here? It's too much for just the two of them."  
"Technically, it was really just against Aiden…"

"Regardless," she interrupted. "It seems a little extreme for me."

"So, you don't believe it?" I asked hesitantly.

She looked down. "I don't know. But you might want to get your facts straight." And before I could respond, Lin turned around and walked out of the gym.

I scowled. So she didn't think I was right? I knew what I'd heard on the night after the Shifter's Tournament. Something was going to happen very soon, and I was going to find out what, alone if I had to. I shook my head to clear it and went to a corner of the gym where a small group of basketballs sat. I took a deep breath, then stared at one of them intently, allowing the image of it to fill my head. A second later, I flicked my eyes up and craned my neck, looking up at the high ceiling. A trail of Particles swirled up into my line of sight, then recombined into the basketball, which became stuck in one of the metal beams that ran horizontally across the top of the room.

My eyes narrowed, and I willed the basketball to reappear on the ground again. It obliged, but came back with two sizable holes in it, letting the air inside escape as it deflated. I forced myself to stay calm as I put my mind to work on another ball. I probably practiced for a half hour, but the result was always the same. A small growl of fury left my mouth as the last basketball, a black one, returned at my feet. It was frustrating that all my efforts were never having an effect.

_What did Aiden say?_ I asked myself. _Focus on an empty space of air? How do you even do that?_

But, I was too tired to care about it right now. I was feeling hot, sweaty, and angry at the moment, so I turned around to go back to my room. That's when I saw movement outside of the gym. Something was walking down the hallway that led to the rest of the school. My curiosity blossomed, and, for a minute, I forgot about my frustration. I ran to catch up to the figure, but it turned a corner at the end of the hall. I stopped at the stairwell, knowing it was best not to follow, and I realized I'd seen him before.

Two weeks ago, I was following Ryan to my room on my first night here, when I passed someone dressed in all black with a hood concealing his eyes. There was no mistaking that he was the same person I saw just moments ago. I began to walk down the stairs in amazement, trying to figure out who this mysterious character could be.

* * *

As much movies and videos as our TV had, there wasn't anything that interested me tonight. I turned it off and looked at the floor. It was about 2 in the morning, which, at one point, I would've thought was a crazy time to still be awake at. But, I probably wouldn't have been able to fall asleep anyway, even if it was time to do so. Before I got to my room a little while earlier, Jam had found me in one of the side corridors, and he wasn't happy. To make a long story short, he stopped believing that Tyler and Kaitlyn were up to no good. I was already annoyed with my failure in the gym so I ended up blowing up at him. I didn't scream at him, but definitely said things that I shouldn't have. I was too tired and upset to try to catch up to him and apologize as he stormed away. I just looked on regretfully, before heading back to my room.

Now, collapsed on the couch, I wanted nothing more than to talk with Aiden again. He seemed like the only person who trusted me now, and considering how similar his family situation was to mine, I simply wanted to hang out with him and voice all my frustrations to him.

_Or maybe it's better this way_, I thought. After all, everyone has turned on me, who's to say that he wouldn't either?

However, I tried to convince myself that he'd still believe me. And then we could both find out what was going to happen to the Shifters. In my view, the leaders couldn't be trusted anymore. They were already blind to the plan, so Aiden was probably the only one who'd help. And with that resolve, I stood up and went to get a snack from the kitchen area. I'd barely walked five feet before my phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out tentatively, apprehensive about talking to any of my friends. But instead, there was a message from the Shifter community that I recognized, and it slowed my beating heart.

**Red alert: Proceed with ****lock-down.**

I shifted nervously. This was the third time they called for a Red Alert, but it was usually a drill. All it meant was that we practiced hiding in our rooms in case there was anyone in the facility wanting to hurt us. However, the last two times it happened, I'd done it with Aiden. Now, I had to attempt to do it on my own. Which wouldn't be too hard, but still nerve-racking, nonetheless. But, I cleared my head, and walked over to the door to make sure it was locked. Then, I switched off the lights, and cautiously went into the kitchen area and sat down next to the refrigerator. The kitchen was right next to the door, which made it the safest place to hide in; if I hid in the bedroom, or bathroom, I'd be closed off from the entrance.

5 minutes went by and nothing happened. I wasn't surprised; it usually went on for a few minutes longer, but I hoped it would end soon. The darkness felt like an impenetrable wall in front of me, and I couldn't see anything past a couple feet. About 10 minutes past, as from the time on my phone, and now I was starting to get concerned. They should've sent out a text saying this drill was over. Why wasn't it finished by now? No real conclusion came to mind, but I couldn't dwell on it for long because my butt was starting to feel numb. And I had an ache in my back from sitting against a hard surface for so long.

Eventually, I couldn't take it, and started to stand up to stretch, before a faint sound caught my ears. It was the sound of hard-soled shoes making purchase with stone, which was rapidly growing louder. I froze in my half crouched position, my heart beginning to race again. During the other times I'd done this, I didn't think anything bad would happen, because nothing ever did. But now, I was worried- no, scared- that someone was going to try to break into my room.

I was just about to panic before the footsteps started to move off, growing quieter, as if the person out there in the corridor had been running away from something. However, it didn't matter to me what they were evading. I was just glad that they were gone. But, no sooner had I thought this, something big and heavy smashed into the door, not breaking it, but most likely causing it to crack. I jumped slightly, the loud noise startling me, and my mind scrambled to find a plan on how to avoid this confrontation.

I admit, in any other situation, I would've gone into a panic, but this time, I was determined not to get spotted. An idea surfaced in my head, and, not seeing any better ones, I decided to go for it. I hurriedly reached for my phone in my pocket, and tried to unlock it as fast as my shaking hands would work. I managed to find what I was looking for, as the big object outside banged into the door once again, and this time, little rays of light were shining through the cracks. I was running out of time.

I opened up the app that controlled the functions in the room, like the air conditioning and temperature, and set the electricity off. Just then, the door flew open with a crash, and I quickly, yet quietly, scooted behind the counter in the middle of the kitchen so whoever was coming in wouldn't see me. A few seconds later, everything had gotten a little quieter, so I peeked around the corner, just slightly, to see what was happening. Three figures were looking around the area, probably trying to notice even the slightest bit of movement. Their faces were covered by light gray helmets that gleamed in the light coming from the hallway, and they wore black camo on their bodies. The realization hit me like a punch in the gut: these people were from the Eastern Militia.

How had we attracted enough attention that the army had to come to investigate? It was either the Shifter leaders not being careful, or that group that saw me on the field had reported us. My heart clenched as I thought of the latter, and instead focused on the one who was trying the light switch to no avail. He nodded to his teammates, and they all turned on little flashlights connected to their helmets. I ducked back behind the counter, knowing if any of them looked in my direction, I'd be seen.

Hearing the sound of doors being opened down the hall told me at least two of them were searching down there. That meant I only had to keep one of them away, who was looking around the living room. But, for the first few minutes everything seemed to go okay. The scuffling sounds made it clear he wasn't close to finding where I was hiding, and my pounding heart finally began to slow down again. The guy searching the living room said something I couldn't make out into a communication device he had, and then it went quiet out there again.

I dared another look, and to my immense relief, saw two of them leave the room. It then occurred to me that more activity had been happening out in the corridors. A few muffled crashes sounded from doors being broken down, and sounds of conversation made its way from down the halls. I hoped with everything I had that no one else would be discovered; it could mean the end of the Shifter community. My attention focused back on my own safety.

The third soldier was about to follow his comrades out of my room, before he started to turn in the direction of the kitchen. I whipped my head back, eyes wide, but the sound of heavy footsteps, slow and measured, began to grow louder as the sound of a gun loaded. Instead of bullets that had been used in the 21st century, certain weapons in the military now fired balls of plasma. Recent technological advancements had made it possible to bring plasma, in its current form, back to earth, where it could be liquified, and put into weapons to be fired.

I shook my head of this thought and pushed my body as close as it would go to the counter, while the light from the helmet grew brighter. The footsteps continued, and, for a moment, I thought the soldier was going to walk around the corner and see me. This only heightened my nerves, but then, everything went quiet. I looked over to the right, only to find I was staring at a black army boot, just inches from my hand.

I wanted to pull my fingers away, but I was too afraid to move even one muscle. The light began to pan around the black area of the kitchen, but the countertop extended about half a foot over my head, casting a shadow over me. Finding nothing, the soldier returned the gun to its holster, turned off his flashlight, and began to leave. His boot brushed my fingers slightly, and I flinched, thinking he'd turn around. But he didn't seem to notice, and continued out of the room without saying a word. I remained completely still as I heard the sounds of other Eastern Militia troops leaving the underground facility. I waited, listening to hear if anything else would occur.

After the sounds outside died down, and nothing else happened for a full minute, I released a sigh of relief, and laid down on the floor, exhausted from almost having a heart attack. I closed my eyes and anxiously waited for what I'd thought was just a drill, to end.

* * *

"Well something happened here."

I looked up to see Aiden leaning against the doorway, casual as ever, and couldn't help but smile. It was a day after the Red Alert, and I'd been on edge the whole time. Which made it even better to see him. I'd just come back from a meeting most of the Shifter leaders had set up to check in with us, and establish what happened. While there wasn't that much they knew, they were certain someone had led the men from the Eastern Militia down into the area on purpose. That felt designed to give me another wave of guilt from being seen that one day on the field. No sooner after it ended, I had another blowout with Jam. While walking through the corridors had only seen me praying it wouldn't turn into a normal thing.

"What makes you say that?"

He shrugged, and came in to sit down at the table. "The door won't lock."

I was suddenly seized with a desperate urge to tell him about what happened the previous night."

"Aiden," I said carefully. "It's great to see you again, but I must ask. Did you hear about the Red Alert?"

He raised a dark eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

I looked at him incredulously. "You didn't hear about it?"

"Dude, I got back 15 minutes ago and came straight here to unwind," he replied with a chuckle. "I had a really crazy trip, not only for my mission, but also for returning."

"What'd you do?"

He opened his mouth to respond, then hesitated as if it was a terrible thing. I'd half expected that already, but he shook his head and came out with it anyway.

"Well, as you probably heard from the meeting, there's at least one rogue Shifter whom we're trying to track down."

My eyes widened. "How did you know I was there?"

"Some Shifters have the ability to sense when others have the same power," he explained. "I'm one of those people. I knew that you were listening in."

"And you didn't call me out, or-"

"Of course not. Ryan said you're not completely on the same page with the leaders. So, I figured that it was fine to let some information come your way. Although, I was surprised when you left so early."

"It was better that I did," I replied quietly. "I would've trusted them less than I already do now." I was eager to change the subject now. "But about the mission. What happened?"  
"Well, we were exploring a location where we believed Brandon was hiding out. He turned out not to be there, but different traps and bombs were left behind to keep us occupied. It was lucky that we made it out alive."

"And yet you don't look too beaten up," I pointed out.

His reaction wasn't what I expected. A pensive look crossed his face, and he gave an absentminded, "Yeah."

It didn't last however, and he gave a small smile. "So, the Red Alert. Tell me about that."

I took a deep breath, and began with the long explanation about the Eastern Militia breaking in and almost finding me.

He grimaced. "I'm sorry to hear all that. Good thing he didn't see you, or it would've not ended well."

I nodded grimly. "Though, I sort of feel like I caused the Red Alert. Someone could've seen me while I was on the field that day."

Aiden shook his head again. "I don't think that's the reason. But, however they found us, we'll have to move again."

That caught me off guard. "What?"

"We have to relocate. It's something we do if the Shifters are found."

"But we weren't," I protested.

"That is true," he replied, standing up. "But how do we know they won't check this place again? It's too dangerous like that. In fact, that's what happened to our last location."

"How long did you stay there?" I asked.

"A month, tops."

My shoulders slumped. That didn't sound all that long.

"But it's not that bad. We found a good place in Pennsylvania, in case we ever had to move, to continue training. We'll be packing up and leaving tomorrow."

I nodded.

"Well, I'm going to go get some lunch. See ya later, buddy."

"See you."

I returned his fist bump, and he walked out of the room, leaving me sitting on the couch alone.


	9. Chapter 9

_9_

Not too long after Aiden left, Jam showed up. He was grinning at something on his phone, but when he looked up, it faded.

"Oh, I didn't think you'd get back here so soon," he said, putting his phone into his jeans pocket.

My eyes met his for a second, then darted away. "Well, I did. Why'd you come here?"

Jam walked in, almost hesitantly. "I was wanting to come see how you were doing. Especially after what happened last night."

"Yeah," I said. "A group of Eastern Militia troops barged their way into my room. I had to fend them off on my own."

His eyes widened. "I'm sorry to hear that. I never even made it to the room they chose for me and Alex. I had to jump into one at the last second. But no soldiers came in."

"So now we're leaving," I replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Now that we got pillaged, we're going to Pennsylvania to continue hiding out," I explained. "It's stupid, really, but that's what's happening."

"Alex was saying something about Pennsylvania, but honestly, I wasn't paying attention." Jam chuckled. "It's funny; it feels like we just got here, and now we'll be moving. This is the first time I'm hearing about it, so I guess they'll be telling us as a group sometime tomorrow."

"Probably," I replied.

A moment of silence passed between us before he spoke again.

"Hey, look," he began. Our eyes locked. "I'm sorry about the way I was acting. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up over the last couple of days."

I shook my head. "No, it was my fault. I should never have said those things to you. I was just so annoyed with that one Shifting move I can't do."

"I know what you're talking about," he replied with a smile. He seemed glad that I wasn't still angry with him. "I've had trouble with it too."

"But you found out how to master it," I protested. "How did you do it? I just want to know what I'm doing wrong."

He thought for a moment, then opened his mouth to respond. However, before it could, another voice broke the silence.

"Now that you two have made up, let's talk about this thing."

We both turned to see Lin leaning against the doorframe, smirking.

"You're about 5 seconds late," I reply, rolling my eyes. "Try some other time."

"I would've said it sooner, but I was answering someone on my phone," she came in.

"What do you want to discuss?" Jam asked.

"I got some info on Tyler and Kaitlyn."

I laugh dryly. "And what will that prove? You believe me now, or something?"  
She looked down. "Well, yes. But don't get your hopes up too high," Lin said as I opened my mouth to give a sarcastic reply. "I don't know if you're right about them wanting to get rid of the Shifters, but I heard the leaders talking about them."

"Now look who's eavesdropping," I said smugly.

"I just happened to be in the area," she retorted with a frown. "I wasn't intentionally looking for them."

I didn't know what else to say, so she continued. "Apparently, the word is they're gone."

"What do you mean?" Jam wondered.

"I mean, during the time between the Red Alert and today, they left."

"Sounds suspicious," I remarked. "Did they mention why?"

She shrugged. "The leaders didn't know anything else."

I put my head in my hands. "I can't take much more of this."

"Kaitlyn and Tyler must have something going on if they ran away. And if I didn't cause the Red Alert, it might've never happened without the Shifter leaders knowing sooner."

Lin looked confused, so Jam elaborated. "He's under the assumption that he lured the military right to us. Which we all know isn't true." He looked at me as he said that.

"Yeah, Jason, what makes you think that?" Lin added.

I sighed. "I'm telling you someone saw me on the field the day after the Shifter's Tournament."

"Was it early?"

I looked down guiltily. "No, it was about noon."

Lin shook her head. "Come on, Jason. No way they'd expect you to be a Shifter. Just a normal kid, practicing on the track."

"I wasn't really practicing…" I began quietly.

"I'm starting to feel famished," Jam interrupted, apparently not having heard me. "Let's head down to the cafeteria and get some lunch before it officially closes."

Lin nodded in agreement, and I was too exhausted to argue, so we all walked down to the cafeteria, passing through nearly empty corridors. Jam and Lin were chatting about the high school they'd gone to before coming here, so I stayed behind them, keeping quiet. I'd never seen them around my school, so I couldn't really join in. It didn't take that long to get there, and when we did, they told me to wait for them while they got food from the kitchen. I obliged, leaning against the wall, in deep thought.

What Lin had said made sense; even though at least one person saw me that day, they had no way of knowing that I was a part of the most secret, and probably the most dangerous, organization on earth. But it did look suspicious; a kid walking away from the track and into the school, and not coming back out. However, the Eastern Militia might've stumbled upon our hideout on accident, simply checking to see what was down the stairwell.

And considering Kaitlyn and Tyler left during Red Alert, they could've been the ones who started it. I could imagine them using their strange and unnatural powers, drawing major attention to the place where we were all hiding. As believable as the scenario was, it actually didn't seem likely to happen. No one had gotten hurt during the Red Alert, so if that was their way of wiping out the Shifters, it had failed miserably. However, if it had been me, I had caused all the Shifters gathered here to move somewhere before they were ready. The army would probably try to find out where we'd be, no matter how good we tried to cover up our tracks.

I knew what I had, and wanted, to do. Not only might it not be safe if I stayed, all the previous events that had occurred were really getting under my skin. With Tyler and Kaitlyn going rogue, the secrets that surrounded me, and even Shifting in general were starting to make me regret my decision of coming here. All the confidence that I'd gained ever since I first made a ball reappear in midair had almost drained out of me. For the first time, I actually missed my old life: going to school, doing my chores, being "the man" around the house. Surprisingly, I had a strong urge to return to it, and leave this experience behind.

Then there was the fact that the leaders barely trusted me after what I'd done. As much as I didn't trust Kaitlyn and Tyler, and I really didn't trust the Shifter leaders either, except for Aiden. My eyes panned around the cafeteria until they found him, a couple tables away. He was laughing and talking to his friends, ones who didn't appear to be leaders. From spending almost all my time with him, he'd grown to be like a brother to me. But, I guess I wouldn't know anything about that, since I'm an only child.

But, in these few weeks, I'd come from not knowing who he was, to understanding what he'd gone through and been holding. His situation didn't appear to be too different from mine, and I really hated leaving him. But, I just couldn't stay here any longer. I wasn't myself anymore. I fished my phone from my pocket, typed a quick message to Aiden, and hit send. He didn't give any indication that he got it, but it was probably better that way. I didn't want him to stop what I was about to do. With a deep breath, I turned and walked out of the cafeteria, without a glance back, and started toward our room to pack up.

* * *

Even though it was nearly 11 pm, there were still a lot of people out driving, converging in small groups on the sidewalk, or doing whatever. The air was a little warm, since the summer months were drawing ever nearer. For this reason, I was able to get away with a T-Shirt and shorts as I walked back home. I'd texted my mom, asking her for a ride, but she never responded. After 10 minutes of waiting, I just decided back on my own, Which I didn't mind; the night was peaceful with no clouds to block the moonlight and the people weren't talking particularly loud. I just hoped that Ryan and most of the other Shifter leaders wouldn't realize I was gone until it was too late.

At a walking pace, it would take me about 40 minutes to get to my house, so I repositioned the straps of my backpack, and I resigned myself to a long trip. Thankfully, it wasn't too far from the subway, so I was easily able to trace my path all the way back. When I finally stepped onto the driveway, I gave a sigh of relief. I hadn't been here for weeks, and it felt good to see my house again.

Even in the dark, I could see the navy blue paint that covered the walls, the small garden my mom usually tended to, and our SUV sitting in front of the garage. I walked up to the light blue door and knocked. A few seconds went by without an answer, and I felt a slight pang of annoyance at my mom, who seemed to be ignoring me. It wasn't that big of a deal; I reached into a side pocket of my backpack and pulled out my house keys. I put them into the keyhole, turned it, and unlocked the door.

"Mom, I'm back!" I called as soon as I stepped inside.

When no reply came, I began to get the feeling that something was wrong. She would've come to see me by now. I took my backpack off and put it on the floor, thankful for the release of its weight, and began to search the house. I started down by our bedrooms and checked my mom's first. She wasn't sleeping or anywhere in there for that matter. Mine was empty too, but it struck me that nothing had really changed. My mom's room was still white with soft purple blankets on the bed's comforter. Mine was blue, and the covers were as neatly made as before I'd left.

I came out and looked around the dining room. She wasn't sitting at the dark wooden table listening to music or anything. I turned around to search the kitchen, when I saw something that made my heart skip a beat. The walls were still light gray and a small microwave, fridge, and oven sat in one corner. A sink and dishwasher were on the other side. But one thing was off from the rest.

My mother was slumped on the floor against one of the cabinets, eyes closed. She was wearing a dark shirt and jeans, and her long brown hair was a mess on her head and shoulders. She didn't move as I came over and knelt beside her. I was confused at first, but then a thought struck me, one I didn't like one bit. I tentatively reached out my hand and placed it on the cold skin of her neck.

No pulse. I didn't feel anything as I drew my hand back. My mind was filled with shock and grief; I hadn't seen her for over two weeks and this was what I came back to. If I had the time, I would've had a few more minutes of sympathy. But, right then, I heard a sound behind me that made me forget what I'd seen for the moment. It was the sound of footsteps, slightly muffled from the carpeted floor.

Someone else was in the house and could probably help me. I stood up and hurried to the hallway entrance to see who it was. But then, my heart started racing as I saw the person, standing just 20 feet away, holding a Particle sword. The soft golden light it emitted illuminated his face, allowing me to see his features. He had golden brown eyes and dark brows that were knitted into a frown. His hair was short and matched the color of eyes, and he was dressed all in black. Putting two and two together, I had almost no doubt that he was the one who'd killed my mother.

Immediately, anger and thirst for revenge overshadowed my growing fear. Well, not completely. I was still scared out of my wits in anticipation for the fight that would surely take place, but not enough that I couldn't think clearly. After my dad died, I had long since learned not to be hopelessly afraid in the face of danger. I took a deep breath and my eyes flickered over to the table. One of the napkins burst into Particles and flowed toward my hand, reforming into a Particle sword of my own. I dropped into a defensive stance; no matter how much I hated this person, I wasn't going to be the one to strike first. He obliged, closing the distance between us, swinging his sword.

I stepped to the right, and raised mine to counter. Tiny Particles burst from our weapons as we pushed into each other. I suddenly realized that this wasn't too different from the Star Wars movies my parents had managed to recover. The glowing swords did look very much like lightsabers, but weren't all the same. Lightsabers were able to slash through just about anything they came into contact with. These Particles swords couldn't even cut through a piece of paper. But with the disadvantages came new, better, advantages. They were lighter, more durable. I ducked, going low to the ground, and the guy's momentum carried his arm forward, slicing the air where my neck had been. Feeling the rush of air as the sword passed, I stood up and pressed on.

Almost instantly, I noticed he wasn't particularly skilled in Particle sword combat. His strikes weren't as fast as I thought they'd be, and, rather, he seemed to be trying to draw me closer to him. I didn't really know why, as I solidified my sword into a wooden one and cut into his hand. It wasn't deep, and wouldn't leave any lasting damage, but he still let out a grunt of pain as he fell back onto the couch. His sword slipped from his hand and fell to the floor, dissipating into Particles. I stood in front of him, pointing my sword at his face, scowling. He stared at me for a few seconds, then turned his head slightly to look at something behind me, and raised his hand.

My eyes widened, but I couldn't react before a glass clobbered my head, hard enough that I felt it. My head seared with pain as the glass fell to the floor, and rolled a few feet away. He sprang to his feet, and the glass turned into a thick 10-foot long piece of rope that was already tied around my body, double-knotted. I toppled to the floor with a loud thud, losing my grip on the sword in my hand. He picked it up and looked like he was about to tear into my flesh. And if I wasn't scared before, it was full-blown panic now. But I tried hard not to show it as I felt my phone buzz in my pocket; someone was trying to contact me. It couldn't have come at a worse time. I was in a position where I couldn't, and didn't want to answer.

But as I looked up at the guy who was most likely going to kill me, an idea suddenly entered my mind. I concentrated on the sword he held, then thought of all the unseen Particles floating around in the air near the ceiling. It was something else that Aiden had told me, that Particles existed in the air surrounding us. To my surprise, and excitement, the weapon burst into Particles and reformed into a cinder block directly above him. He barely saw it coming before the hunk of rock clobbered him on the head with a crash. Having fallen from about 5 feet, it completely knocked him out, his eyes sliding out of focus. He hit the ground next to me, unconscious.

I took in deep breaths, my body shaking slightly, shocked at how I'd done that to another human being. But, there wasn't time to dwell on that now. I thought of the rope, and it disappeared and instantly reappeared around him, tightly double-knotted. I had no idea where he was hiding when I arrived at my house, but hopefully the rope would hold him, even for a little bit. I sat up, feeling overwhelmed at all that had happened.

Of all the things I could've done at that moment, I retrieved my phone and looked at the recent messages.

From Lin: **Did you go back to your room? Where are you?**

From Aiden: **I understand, but you have to let Ryan know if you don't want to do this anymore.**

Tears pooled in my eyes as I put my phone away. I wasn't anywhere near ready to talk or be found yet. If only it had been so easy to go back to my old life, but now, with my mom gone, there was nothing else to do, nowhere else to go.

I pulled my knees up to my chest, buried my face in my arms, and wept.

* * *

It took me about 10 minutes to clear everything up with the cops on the phone, but right after I was done, I took my backpack and left my house for the final time. I still made sure to lock the door, even if the police would soon be coming. Now that one of the reasons that I'd left the Shifters had disappeared, the underground facility was the only home I could return to now. As much as I disliked the idea of it, another option would be to tough it out on the streets, but what could that accomplish? I'd turn into a beggar, desperately looking for food and money.

And, eventually, I'd need to use my unnatural powers to survive, and get sent to prison for being a monster. Or just get killed. Other horrifying scenarios ran through my brain as someone farther up the sidewalk called out my name. I lifted my head to see a young woman hurrying toward me. She had shoulder length blonde hair that glowed in the moonlight, and bright sky blue eyes. It was my neighbor, Mrs. Finn, who was a good friend of my mom's. Thinking that tore my heart to shreds.

"What are you doing out here so late?" She asked when she arrived.

"I could ask you the same thing," I replied carefully, though that wasn't saying much. Mrs. Finn worked during the night as a nurse, so she might as well have been on the Night Mode schedule. But the hospital she worked at was a few dozen miles from our neighborhood, so it was weird seeing her walk home. I decided to voice the question to her.

"Oh, right," she said with a chuckle. "Well, my car broke down right as I was entering the parking lot, so I had to call a mechanic to give it a tow and fix it up. And my husband has to work late tonight, so he can't bring me home."

"That's unfortunate," I said. "But, I can't believe something happened to your car. They usually don't break anymore." This was true. Most vehicles were manufactured to run on electricity and came with simple, yet efficient motors.

"Guess I'm just one of the unlucky ones," she replied. "But what are you doing, wandering around town? I'd think you'd be in bed right now."

I looked back down at the ground. "I would, but I have somewhere to be."

"Really? Your mother's probably going to get worried."

I took a deep breath. "No, it's fine, Mrs. Finn."

She cocked an eyebrow, but just went along with it. "Well, okay. I'll see you later." She continued down the sidewalk. I watched her for a moment, feeling tears cloud my vision, then turned and went back to walking toward the subway.

* * *

The corridors were nearly empty as I walked through them, trying to remember the way back to my room that Ryan had shown me all those days ago. It didn't feel the same this time. The lights on the ceiling were slightly dimmer, as if they were ready to go out and plunge the entire place into darkness. A few doors were open, where I could see people packing up and getting ready to leave. As I arrived at my room, my phone buzzed for the third time tonight. This message, though, was from Jam.

**If you're still here, they decided to have us catch the train at 6 in the morning. Not everyone can fit on at once, so we're making two trips. More information will come tomorrow. You should think about gathering your things now.**

That had been what I was planning on doing, but the reason for our early departure was something I couldn't find. I shook my head as I walked in. Aiden was nowhere to be found, but, right now, I didn't care about where he went. Events from what had happened tonight were still swirling through my mind, and I wanted to be alone. I went into the bedroom and opened one of the drawers to put my clothes in my backpack. There was definitely not enough room to fit all of them, with the stuff that was already in there, but I had a feeling that the people who handled the laundry would clear out the rest.

But that thought made me think of Lin, so I pushed it away and looked around, seeing if there was anything else I could put away. Besides my clothes, the only items I brought with me were, my phone, laptop, a few books; all of which were in my backpack. So this gave me some time to comprehend everything that had happened since the Red Alert.

The Eastern Militia is onto us.

Tyler and Kaitlyn escaped and are hiding out somewhere.

My mom is dead.

Oh, and I'm hungry.

Okay, that last part was a little random, but true. I figured I could find a protein bar or a banana in the kitchen area, provided that they hadn't cleared out the fridge or the cabinets. I had a feeling they did. I was just about to go check, when someone messaged me yet again. This time, I felt a growing annoyance as I pulled my phone out to see who it was. However, I was surprised to see it was Aiden.

**I have something important to show you. Meet me in the gym.**

I stared at it for a few seconds, baffled at what he'd want to teach me at a time like this. But, it didn't matter; Shifting seemed like a good way to take my mind off things. So, putting my backpack on my bed, I walked out of the room one of the last times.


	10. Chapter 10

_10_

Something felt off as I made my way through the corridors. The doors that had been open were now close and barely any sound could be heard from behind them. This seemed to make my footsteps against the stone floor louder than they should've been, and it left me feeling uneasy. However, my hesitancy was set aside as I reached the stairwell that would take me into the school. In no time, I was heading to the gym. As I walked in, I couldn't help but see how similar it was to when I first trained here.

All the lights were turned off, but strong moonlight shone through the windows near the ceiling in thick rays, making the room bright enough to see. Random sports equipment, like basketballs, hockey sticks, and baseball mitts were lying in certain places on the floor, as if someone had scattered them around. But, to my shock, the one thing that stood out was Tyler and Kaitlyn standing in the middle of the gym, looking back at me. Aiden was nowhere in sight. I gaped as I walked closer, stopping about 50 feet away from them. Kaitlyn spoke first.

"Nice to see you again, Jason. I'm glad that you decided to take us up on our offer."

"You guys?" I managed to get out. "Where's Aiden? I thought he-"

"Contacted you?" She finished with a smirk. "Not quite." She pulled something out her pocket and held it up for me to see. My eyes widened.

"How did you get his phone?" I demanded.

Kaitlyn shrugged. "Easy. I just walked into your room and took it."

_If only the leaders had had someone fix our door_, I thought bitterly. "But he didn't fight you or something?" I questioned skeptically. "And what about his password?"

"Well, Tyler was able to take care of him," she replied. "As for the password, I found where we wrote it in his backpack. Lucky break, I guess."

"So, where is he?" I repeated.

Tyler answered this time. "Let's just say we hit him hard and he's never getting back up again."

My breath caught. The idea that these rebels had killed one of my closest friends was beyond my ability to grasp. But this allowed another terrible thought to surface.

"Did you two have something to do with our mother?" I asked quietly, But they could still hear me.

"Ah, yes, Melissa," Kaitlyn said. "She was a fiesty one, always getting in the way of my father's plans. We weren't the ones who killed her, but a friend of ours did."

That was all I needed to hear. Whatever the reason was that the Shifter leaders had for bringing all of us here, there was more beneath the surface. Clearly, two sides had formed, and the people standing in front of me were on the opposite one. Directly and indirectly, they ensured the deaths of the individuals close to me, and now I knew this was where they were stopped. Rage coursed through my body as I stared at the ground, fists clenched. Sounds I couldn't make out floated up from the corridors. They seemed to be screaming and clashing of metal on metal, but I blocked them out, only focused on these two monsters.

"Do you know why we brought you here, Jason?" Kaitlyn asked. I raised my head. "It's because you're not like the other Shifters. You have a stronger energy around you that makes you far powerful than them. We can sense it because we have that same strength. But yours is a threat to us, so we're going to snuff it out."

Any fear that would've sprung up like an ocean wave had been drained out. The only thought in my head was so simple, yet dangerous.

_Bring it on_

This was what pushed me to speak. "So far, it seems like neither of you have more power than any other Shifter," I said in a quiet, but firm voice. "Needing to kill to get what you want. That's weak in my book."

"Really?" Kaitlyn asked, cocking an eyebrow as her smile grew. Instantly everything around me, the bleachers, the basketball hoops, the balls, even the gym itself, began to ripple evenly. It looked like every object was a wave flowing through the ocean. A feeling of dizziness overpowered my senses, and I fell to my knees, clutching my head. I was barely able to hear Kaitlyn as she said, "I think we're very powerful."

I forced myself to look up as she began to walk toward me, the football closest to her transforming into a knife. As my vision began to waver, I tried to Shift something, anything, to help me out of this situation, But I couldn't concentrate on any object I saw long enough, and soon gave up. She was now only 20 feet away and getting closer. I looked back down at the ground, feeling a surge of nausea coming on and suddenly wished this would end. How could I go up against someone who could manipulate a room as big as this? Just as it seemed there was no hope anymore, I heard the clash of steel on wood, and Kaitlyn's shriek of surprise. I dared to look up and saw her slide back across the gym floor, before tripping and falling next to Tyler. Immediately, the gym and everything in it became still.

As Tyler helped Kaitlyn to her feet, I became aware of a presence next to me. I turned to see someone dressed in all black, with a hood covering the top half of his face, holding an iron sword, ready to take on the people standing across from us. I looked on in surprise as I realized it was the guy that I saw during my first night here. Only now, his true identity was crystal clear to me as Aiden took off his sweatshirt in one smooth motion, throwing it behind him. His fiery eyes burned with hatred as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Nice of you to leave me in an abandoned classroom, tied up, and stuck under a desk."

Tyler sneered. "Back from the dead?"  
Aiden chuckled. "It takes more than some sword strikes to end me. I thought you would've realized that by now. Let's try it again, two on two."

"No," I was surprised at the amount of finality in my voice. "This is my fight, Aiden. Let me do this."

"That's not happening, man," he replied, then leaned in close so that only I could hear his words. "You won't be able to last long with both of them. You're still near the beginning level."

My brow furrowed and my hands clenched slightly.

"Look, I know how you're feeling right now," he whispered, compassion shining through his words. "You want to get revenge on them. At least let me help you." I looked at him, and my expression softened. I could tell that he wanted to make things better. I nodded once. He did the same, and we turned back to face the two.

Kaitlyn smirked. "Looks like we'll be able to take out both of the threats in one shot. This will be fun."

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you," Aiden shot back.

She frowned, then stared at something above us and concentrated. Before I knew what was happening, the basketball hoop behind us burst into Particles that floated high over Aiden's head. They solidified into a piece of building foundation the size of a car, which started to fall, on course with his head. I opened my mouth to warn him, but he dive rolled to the side, and directed his hand up to the foundation. It reformed into Particles before it hit the ground, and they streamed toward him. Once they made contact with his hand, they morphed into a small pole, which Aiden fired like a bullet at Kaitlyn's forehead.

She was as fast as lightning, though, and caught it inches before it would've struck.

She smiled again.

"You've gotten smarter," she said, as Particles began flowing up the pole, slowly turning it into a Particle weapon. It looked like it was being eaten up by little orbs of light.

Aiden returned the expression. "You've gotten quicker," he replied as he summoned a Particle sword from a nearby baseball bat. Then they both lunged and began to duel, continuously slashing and blocking each other. I looked at Tyler and charged at him, a Particle sword appearing in my hand. He turned to look at me, no expression on his face and stretched his hand in my direction. Instantly, I stopped moving, but before I could comprehend what was happening, my entire vision turned black, and I was unable to breathe. This was the reason that my panic began to blossom again, but also because it felt like my entire body; every bone, every muscle, was being taken apart. Not painfully, but I could definitely feel it.

It all happened in less than a second.

Once my vision returned, I took several deep breaths to calm down. And that's when I noticed I was no longer standing in front of Tyler. Rather, I was about 20 feet above the gym floor, back against the stone wall. What was shocking was that I was trapped behind metal bars crisscrossing in squares big enough for my legs and arms to fit through. But even more surprising was thatI couldn't Shift the cage away. Whatever Tyler had done, he'd trapped me good.

Movement was limited, as the bars were only inches from my face. I was able to lift my arms and legs, but only a little, not that they'd be much help. The entire thing might as well have been bolted to the wall; it didn't move in the slightest as I struggled within it, so eventually I gave up. However, it did offer me a good view to witness the inevitable battle unfold. Aiden glanced back to where I was pinned, then back to Kaitlyn and Tyler, who was walking toward him, Particle sword in hand. From my position, I couldn't see Aiden's face, but I imagined a scowl on his face from the way they reacted to him.

But, it wasn't until now that I noticed how cool Particle swords looked in the dark. Besides the moon, they were the only source of light in the room. It seemed as if they were only using glow sticks instead of weapons. Aiden stretched his left hand to the side and made one of the soccer balls become another Particle sword, which had a deep blue hue. I watched in amazement. Particle objects could become different colors? Though, I guess I shouldn't be too shocked. Color was one of the things Particles could control. Aiden stepped back into a fighting stance, and Kaitlyn and Tyler charged him, one on either side. He spun around, blocking them, and used all his force to strike against Kaitlyn . She attempted to fight back, but was no match for two weapons, so it was only a few moments before she was on the ground. Aiden stood over her, swords pointed down, and probably would've let the blow fall had Tyler not intervene.

Half of his sword poked through Aiden's arm, but Aiden jumped out of the way just as it solidified. After that, what occurred was the second part of the greatest Shifter's fight as Kaitlyn tried to recover. Tyler slashed to the left, then to the right, and followed up with an uppercut to the chest. Aiden blocked all the attacks, and then performed a jump kick to Tyler's stomach. He fell to the ground, clearly winded from widened eyes and shallow breathing. Aiden raised his sword, and brought it down fast and hard. However, Tyler's brow knitted, and a chunk of wood the size of an apple fell from the air.

The timing was such that it hit his hand right before the sword would've entered Tyler's body. Aiden jumped back in surprise, dropping his weapon, which dispersed into hundreds of Particles. Then he sidestepped the pole that would've nailed him in the back of the head. He spun around to face Kaitlyn, who already had another one aimed at him.

"You're really using my own moves against me?" Aiden seethed.

She shrugged. "You would've done the same."

And then she was sprinting toward him, the pole reforming into a Particle sword, intent on spearing through his chest. Aiden raised his other blue sword to parry her attack. However, it wasn't long before she pushed off him and they began to duel. All at once, the realization hit me that this was the first time I've seen Kaitlyn ever fight before. And she looked like a master at it, keeping her strikes controlled, yet powerful. But Aiden was just as good, if not better, his sword like a blue spirit, finding countless openings that she was barely able to block.

In fact, it was even difficult to process what was happening because of how fast their blades were moving. They looked like two rays of light that were constantly colliding and reflecting off of each other. I looked back at Tyler. He had rolled over and was starting to regain his strength. It was only a matter of time before he was ready to fight and when that happened, he and Kaitlyn could overpower Aiden…

I knew I had to help him. Had to get myself out of the cage I was trapped in. Had to destroy them. There was no way I could face them both by myself, no way I could win. Once again, I put the full force of my mind against the bars, thinking about them turning into a pair of my Vans. Or a dry erase marker. But, like the first time, nothing happened. I growled in anger, then started concentrating on other objects around the gym to turn into a hammer or something heavy I could use to bang against them to widen them.

Even that didn't work. I hung my head in frustration. Whatever Tyler had done to me, he'd somehow blocked my ability to Shift. I was going to run another series of possible things I could do through my brain, before a voice caught my ear. I looked up to see Aiden was trying to bring his sword down on Kaitlyn, who was pressing back with hers. Slowly, but surely, despite her best attempts, she was being forced to the ground. Somehow, though, she still managed to form words.

"So… you really think taking us out… is possible?" She asked with an amused smile.

"You seem to think you're invincible," Aiden retorted. "It's your greatest weakness."

"I'd disagree," Kaitlyn replied. She was now on the floor, and Aiden was still pushing her sword closer towards her neck. "You're… the one with the weak link. You can't let go of your past. That distraction will be… your downfall!"

With that, she delivered a sharp kick to his knee and gave a hard thrust with her sword, causing him to step back a few paces. But, Kaitlyn remained on the ground to catch her breath. At first, I didn't understand. She had just given Aiden the opening to end her. But, that's when I saw what Tyler was doing. He was back on his feet and had his hands aimed at something that was in the air. I directed my gaze back, and my heart stopped.

A gigantic barrel was being formed from one of the overhead lights, and was positioned above the basketball hoop. I was baffled at why he was doing this, until it was fully there, and falling fast. Upon hitting the hoop, it tipped over, spilling the contents that'd been inside. The thought of how he was able to put water into something he was Shifting barely registered in my head as I shouted, "Aiden, watch out!"

It was clear there was something far more worse than just a few dozen gallons of water. But, my warning came too late.

Aiden didn't have any time to react before the liquid doused him with a loud splash. A scream of pure agony burst from his mouth, and my eyes widened in shock as I realized the liquid was probably at a boiling temperature. Kaitlyn had already Shifted herself away, leaving Aiden to take all the iron barrel fell to the ground behind him with an ear splitting crash, that made my ears ring, barely drowning out his scream for a second, and rolled over to the bleachers. Somehow, Aiden found the strength to Shift himself out of harm's way, and at the same time, the cage I was trapped behind morphed into a feather, causing me to fall to the ground. It came as a shock, my stomach flying into my chest, but I still managed to land on my hands and feet. My hands stung a little with pain when they made contact with the hard floor, but I shook it off, and jogged along the side of the gym until I stood between Aiden, and Tyler, and Kaitlyn.

They were staring at Aiden, but with different expressions on their faces. Tyler was looking absolutely shell shocked and horrified at what he was seeing, but Kaitlyn was wearing a triumphant smile, as if she'd gotten exactly what she'd wanted. This was not sitting well with me, so I followed their gaze. Aiden was standing there, breathing heavily, immense hatred in his eyes for the duet across from him. He'd managed to remove his T-shirt, which was probably a good thing since they took the brunt of the water.

It then occurred to me that this was the first time I've seen Aiden without his shirt on. He looked even stronger this way, with his muscular chest and arms. But the skin right under his neck, and in parts on his face, to his stomach had gotten burned and was now a shade of deep red. The tattoo on his right arm, which he'd kept carefully obscured, was now fully revealed. It was a picture of a circle slowly morphing into a triangle, and was about the size of a large pink eraser.

I suddenly remembered that I'd seen that symbol before. A couple hours ago, when I was fighting for my life against the guy who'd killed my mom, he'd had the same image on his shirt. It was clear that the tattoo wasn't used just so you could look cool; it stood for something that I had yet to figure out. But the tattoo wasn't the thing that made me take a shuddering breath and recoil slightly. Just above his stomach was a thick scar created by what appeared to be two sword slashes. They were arranged in a jagged "X", and had turned slightly white upon being burned.

"So," Kaitlyn said. "The rumors are true."

Aiden looked at her. "Yes," he replied, his voice low and threatening. "They are."

So something else must've happened in his past. Something terrible. But my head was still spinning from everything that had happened tonight, so I didn't bother to ask. And also because Aiden was starting to move his hands in an upside-down arc motion, causing the lake of water behind him to change into Particles. They flowed in front of him and began to follow his movements. But instead of going in an arc, they continued to form an entire circle. Soon, other objects in the gym, the balls, the basketball hoops, even the barrel, began to follow suit, adding to the circle of Particles and making it grow bigger and thicker. Kaitlyn and Tyler looked confused at first, but then their looks changed to recognition as they realized what he was doing. Immediately, they began to copy him, each creating their own individual circle of Particles. But Aiden had had a lead, and his creation was bigger than theirs. He started moving his hands faster, taking in more objects. I watched, completely baffled at what was happening. I didn't have to wait long to find out.

Eventually, between the two opposing forces, the entire gym had become bare, except for the walls, floor, and ceiling. Oh, and the windows too. Throughout the whole buildup, Aiden's face had remained calm, his eyes closed. But, now, they flew open and his face contorted with rage as he thrusted his hands forward. The large cluster of Particles, which had now formed into a sphere, surged forward at rocket speed. It almost looked like the sun was flying toward Kaitlyn and Tyler, intent on wiping them out for good.

They pushed their balls of Particles forward too, but they only moved about 10 feet before coming into contact with Aiden's sphere. His Particles completely disintegrated theirs as the world exploded with light and sound. The force of the blast pushed me back into the wall. My body slammed into it hard, and pain blossomed up from my back, it nearly felt as if it'd been taken off. The impact was sure to leave a rest of the gym was hidden behind a light so bright I had to close my eyes and look away. The roar of the explosion still blared piercingly in my ears, and I was left to wonder if I'd go blind and deaf after all 10 seconds later, I found that I was lying on the ground, as still as a statue. From my position, I couldn't see Aiden, Tyler, or Kaitlyn, but I wasn't thinking about them yet. I didn't dare move a muscle until the loud ringing in my ears had subsided, and my eyes weren't light sensitive. I stood up, rubbing my head and looked around.

The entire gym was in ruins. Most of the ceiling had been blown apart, leaving holes as large as small bedrooms scattered throughout the stone foundation. The windows were completely shattered, and pieces of glass lined the floor, twinkling like diamonds in the moonlight. Rubble was everywhere and the walls were ripped in some places. It looked like all out war had happened for a moment, and we were in the middle of the aftermath. I couldn't believe that the new spacious gym where I had my first practice on learning how to Shift, had been turned into this within seconds. Aiden was looking at the cloud of dust where the explosion had happened with no expression, his body relaxed as if he'd finally let go of something he'd been holding on to. Strangely, I felt the same way. It was probably from the realization that we had two dangerous traitors out of the way. I started walking toward him.

But then, two shadowy figures appeared in the thinning dust cloud. His body tensed up again as he narrowed his eyes. Even I had a sense of wariness as Kaitlyn and Tyler walked out into the open. I stopped, shocked. They were both terribly bruised and battered, but nonetheless, still standing. And then, when the dust finally cleared, a small titanium wall could be seen, big enough to protect them from most of the damage from the blast. Of course they wouldn't go down that easily. Aiden must've realized that as well, because his shirt and sweatshirt behind him reformed into a Particle sword in his hand. But, I noticed that his face crinkled with effort as he did so, and the weapon was stark white instead of pale gold. Creating that blast must've really weakened him, since he was sweating up a storm. I couldn't imagine how he was feeling.

I also wondered if the color of Particle objects depended on how much energy you had. It seemed to make enough sense. But I didn't have much time to debate it, since the iron wall had transformed into Tyler's Particle sword, which was also white. Then he Shifted himself in front of Aiden and they began to battle again, but not with as much severity as before.

I gazed intently at a piece of the stone wall sitting on the ground, and it formed into a Particle sword in my hand as well, pale gold and full of strength. I turned to face Kaitlyn , but found she wasn't coming at me. Rather, she was aiming a gray object at the battling duo, the size and shape of a TV remote with a single button on it. At the same time, Tyler was slowly turning the fight around as their swords clashed, moving Aiden into a position so that he'd be right in front of Kaitlyn. I opened my mouth to yell to him to watch out, but at that moment, Tyler kicked Aiden in the stomach, sending him closer to her, and that's when she activated it.

She pressed the button and flicked the device, sending gray filaments from a small hole on the front flying at lightning speed toward him. Tyler Shifted away and Aiden barely knew what was happening until it was too late. The filaments attached to parts of his body, then electricity started dancing up and down them, striking him. He fell to the floor, crying out in pain as the electricity moved around his body, causing him to wince and spasm uncontrollably. Seconds later, little dots of light began traveling up the filaments and into the mysterious device.

Whatever Kaitlyn was doing to Aiden, it wasn't good and clearly had to be stopped. I rushed toward her, sword blazing, before I felt soft thuds on my back. Instantly , I felt an untold amount of electricity enter my body, It came as a shock, and felt warm, but incredibly, incredibly painful. I collapsed, screaming, and turned my head to see that Tyler was using the same device on me, and that small pinpoints of light were traveling into it. I also noticed that my strength was starting to fail, that I was growing weaker. Whatever the thing was, it was stealing my energy.

Every nerve was aflame, and I was experiencing a level of hurt that I didn't know was possible. I looked up at Aiden and saw that he'd cut the filaments with his sword, which had solidified to one made out of iron. Kaitlyn took a step back with a surprise expression on her face, and I knew I needed to do the same thing. But my sword had flown out of my hand and landed out of my reach, about five feet away, and my body was starting to stiffen from the electricity. Which meant I had no way of getting it. Except it didn't matter now. My mind decided that it couldn't accept anymore. The last thing I remember was Tyler's grunt of pain, and my body covered in a wam pins and needles feeling as for the first time in my life, I passed out.


	11. Chapter 11

_11_

"How's he doing?"

"His body is still in shock from being electrocuted, but he's better. And for goodness sake if you make him play another Smash round…"

"Fine, I won't. But I'll have you know, we were gonna-"

"And don't let him Shift, watch movies, or worse, walk."

"Seriously? Out of all the things on that list, walking is the most harmful?"

"Maybe if you can barely walk, then yeah."

"You do realize you'll never be a doctor, right?"

"So I've been told."

Hearing Jam and Lin quarreling with each other brought a sense of normality in this crazy messed up journey I've been taking myself on. But right now, floating weightlessly around in this shapeless, dark reality was as normal as it could get. Even though I was still half asleep, I could feel my senses starting to come back on. I couldn't see anything because my eyes were closed, but I was able to feel the soft coolness of blankets and pillows, which suggested I was in a bed. More sounds were starting to come out of the blur as well, various whirrs and low hums of machines working.

Which then brought me to realize I couldn't be back home. As far as I knew, I didn't have any in my room, so, then, what was…?

"Well, I'm going to go get some lunch. You coming?"

"Nah, I want to stay here. He needs someone in case he wakes up."

"Suit yourself." Then a door opened and closed with a soft thud, and the rest of my senses came back with a jolt. My eyes flew open and I gasped sharply.

I was indeed lying in a bed, but it definitely wasn't mine. The blankets were all white, catching the sunlight flooding through the windows, and made it brighter than it was, me to squint. I looked up and took in my surroundings. Another window and a door sat on one wall, and both allowed me to see outside, which revealed a hallway and more rooms like this one. The walls were also white, but they appeared darker, since the lights were off. Besides a few chairs, and a counter with a sink and cabinets, the room was small and rather bare. Though it occurred to me I wasn't the only one here.

"Oh, that was quick," Jam said, standing up.

"Jam," I said softly. I was surprised by how weak my voice sounded. "What's going on? Where are-?"

"Dude," he replied, holding up a hand. "I'm sure you have a hundred questions right now. I do too. But let's take things easy for today."

I shrug. "Okay, fair enough. But can you at least tell me where we are?"

"We found an abandoned mall in Pennsylvania."

So Aiden was right; we did go there. However, I look at him like he's crazy. "It looks like a hospital."

"It is. They built a small medical section on the second floor. It was the perfect place to get you fixed up. Don't ask me why someone added a hospital to a mall, 'cause I wouldn't even know," he added when I opened my mouth to interrupt.

All of a sudden, we heard voices coming from down the hall, a little muffled behind the closed door. Then a knock sounded, as a deep voice said, "Yo, Alan. You in there?"

Jam turned around in what looked like disbelief as the door opened. "Alex?"

Alex came into the room, wearing a brown leather jacket and jeans. As soon as Jam saw him, he basically jogged over to him, a little shakily. Alex got down on one knee, and they met in a tight embrace, hugging each other. Once I realized Jam was crying a little, I directed my gaze to the window overlooking the sunny sky. As much as I wanted to give them space, I couldn't exactly get up. My body was still too weak for that. Plus, I was now able to see that several wires were hooked up to my body from the machines behind me, which I somehow couldn't feel. It was quite clear I was stuck here for a while.

It was about 10 seconds before the two of them parted.

"I can't believe it," Alex said quietly. "When you were cornered by those three and we got separated, I thought you wouldn't…"

"I know," Jam replied. "I felt the same way."

"Uh, guys?" I asked skeptically, noticing my voice was a little stronger. "Can one of you tell me what we're talking about?"

They turned to look at me. Alex stood up and cleared his throat. "Hey, Jason. Glad to see you're doing better."

"Are you telling me you don't know what happened last night?"Jam asked. "You were there, right?"

"No, I was dealing with Kaitlyn and Tyler." Jam looked confused, but I ignored him, and gazed up at Alex. "Why do you keep calling him 'Alan?'" I questioned. "I thought his name was Jam, right?"

Alex shook his head. "After the recent events that occurred, no way. He could've gotten killed, and frankly, I wasn't crazy about it anyway."

"Alan's my real name," Jam, or Alan, clarified.

"Then, why'd you call yourself 'Jam?'" I wondered.

"My friends at school gave it to me," he replied. "Back when I was in middle school, the teachers and staff began using this new software made for long-distance communication. It was just an app that you could download onto your phone and speak to anyone else using it if they needed help with something. However, in order to use it, they had to be logged into these special accounts. I got into the habit of messing with them."

"You mean like hacking?" I asked.

He looked down, probably embarrassed. "Yeah, sort of. I found out how to make my own, and copied one of their apps onto my phone using specific code. At first, I just listened to their conversations on my own, since, you know, school can get pretty boring. I thought it would be fun to hear what they had to say. But then, other students started paying attention to it as well."

"Because he asked for the money," Alex jumped in, a sly smile on his face.

"He's lying," Jam said, rolling his eyes and giving him a friendly punch to his arm. Alex barely flinched. I laughed.

"Anyway, I hacked some of the settings on my account and made it so that I could control everyone else's radios. Sometimes I'd create static noise that wouldn't stop. Other times, I'd make their voices deeper or just completely turn them off. After about a week, the teachers got rid of them, but all that is the reason people call me 'Jam.'" Then he paused, and added, "Or at least the students. The staff never found out."

"Sounds like fun," I replied. "At my school the teachers were always secretive about the things they were doing."

"Same at our high school," Alex chimed in, and I could tell he wanted to say more, but then he looked at his phone, and sighed in annoyance. "I gotta run. See you guys later."

"Bye, Alex," Jam said as he left.

"Hey, I was going to say that," I chided.

"Well, I said it first," he retorted, smirking.

I opened my mouth for a comeback when Lin walked in, holding a sandwich. "Hey, Jam. They have a big lunch downstairs. Still plenty if you- Jason you're awake!"

She dropped her sandwich on one of the chairs and ran over to hug me. I tried to return it, but I found lifting my arms was harder than I thought.

"I missed you so much! We were worried that something happened to you during the- and why weren't you answering our texts?"

That last part was so unexpected, that it took a moment to register. "Lin, I-" But at that moment, one of the tubes that was connected to me pulsed, and a warm substance entered my body.

I turned my head in the direction of it and, out of the corner of my eye, saw Lin looking confused. But then, recognition dawned on her as she said, "Rats, it's 2:15."

I turned back as my head began to feel woozy. A sloshy image of Ryan poked his head into the room. "You two should come out," his voice was starting to sound echoey and muffled. "It'll be a while."

The room was shifting around, so I closed my eyes.

The last thing I remembered was Lin's complaint of "We can't stay with him?" before my senses shut down again and everything stopped.

* * *

This time, waking up wasn't as jolting as the first time. My eyes darted around the room as they adjusted to the light. No one was in here, which came as a relief to me because I wasn't ready to talk just yet. The window that overlooked the front of the building was about a quarter open, allowing a soft breeze to blow in and ruffle the snow-white curtains. My phone was lying on a table next to my bed, so I reached out to grab it. My arm felt a little stronger, so whatever that warm, liquid stuff was, it must've worked. I turned it on to check the time and found out, based on what Lin had said, that I hadn't even been asleep for an hour; it was close to 2:50.

I set it back down, and took in the peace and quiet of lying still. It seemed hard to believe that just recently (I wasn't sure how long) I was almost killed, but yet here I was, lying in a hospital bed. It was clear that I'd need more training to be able to face Kaitlyn and Tyler again, but who knew when I'd be able to. Right now, I could barely muster the energy to Shift. I heard footsteps coming from the hallway, and I looked up to see Aiden peek in. When he saw I was awake, he stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets and walked in.

"Hey, man," his voice was low and comforting.

"Hey."

He sat down in one of the chairs with a sigh, and folded his hands, balancing his elbows on his knees. "How're you feeling?"

"Well, now that I think about it, my chest feels like it has pins and needles in it. What's going on?"

"It was probably your medications."

"My what?" I asked.

He looked at me. "Those machines behind you? They have wires and tubes linked directly to your body. Every once in a while one of them will pump nurem liquid into your system. It just makes you fall asleep as the body repairs any damage it might've sustained."

"I'm guessing this late 21st century tech," I remarked.

"Yep. First used in 2090. Its AI senses when it needs to do its job, and then it will automatically inject the medicine. At least Ryan knew how to get this one working. Speaking of which, he's working on getting the electricity in the rest of the building running so we can start training."

"So we are still training?" I asked in surprise. Even though I'd already figured this, it was still shocking to hear it out loud.

"Well, yeah," he replied like it was obvious.

"I don't see much need," I said slowly.

"Of course there's a need," he responded, standing up. "A group of people are looking to destroy us. We can't let that happen."

I closed my eyes for a moment, and, when I opened them, they had a fire. I looked Aiden in the eye, which was still a little challenging after all this time. "What happened that night? When we faced Kaitlyn and Tyler?"

Aiden stared at me for a moment, his red and gold eyes piercing through my soft brown ones. Eventually, I couldn't keep contact and looked down at the bed. I heard him take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"After I freed myself from Kaitlyn's trap, I knew I had to do something fast, or you would've gotten killed. So, I threw my sword at Tyler's arm, sort of a desperate attempt. I didn't have the strength to Shift anything around me, so that was all I could do. When it struck his arm, he dropped the device he was using on you, which gave me enough time to get you out of there. I can still run pretty fast after all these years of not practicing, even with the extra weight from carrying you. Then the 14 other Shifters and I got on one of the trains in the subway, and Alex somehow got it working. We rode until we ended up in Pennsylvania yesterday morning. After that, we found the mall, which, thankfully, had a medical section, and we wasted no time getting you here and hooked up."

"Okay," I nodded, taking it all in. "So we've been here for a day."

"No. This is our second."  
Turns out I'd been out cold longer than I thought.

"And what do you mean by 14 Shifters? I thought we had, like, 500."

Aiden looked down, face pained. "While we were in the gym, something happened down there."

"What?"

"Probably the best war strategy that I've ever seen," he said quietly. "Well, maybe not the _best_, but I've still never expected something like it. About half of the masters and a few leaders turned on us."

"Masters?" I questioned.

"That's just what we call Shifters who are 17 and 18 years old," he explained. "They must've thought the night before we moved was a good time to strike, so a large group of them attacked. And the casualties." he took another deep breath. "All the Shifters except you, Jam, and Lin, who were still in the beginning stage were killed. That's two-thirds of the Shifters, or about 370 guys right there. And most of the masters were murdered as well, bringing our total number down to 23 Shifters. On the other side, a lot of the Shifters were killed there too. They have about as much as we do."

"Who's they?"

"Tyler, Kaitlyn, and Brandon. They had a plan to take us all out. And it nearly succeeded. I could've helped fend off the traitors, but it was better that we regroup. Plus, I was still carrying you on my back, and had gotten weakened during our fight. Can't exactly do much under those conditions. They didn't bother to pursue us because the police were right outside the building, and they had to hide."

I gave him a look of skepticism.

"Well, if the inside of a school gym exploded, wouldn't you be pretty terrified and call for help?"

"Good point," I replied, as more pieces to the puzzle fit together inside my head. "So, Kaitlyn and Tyler somehow got the attention of the Eastern Militia to come put us on guard. And they used that time to get away and prepare the attack."

"Yeah," Aiden sighed. "That's basically what happened. But, I'm still not sure why some of our own joined them." I kept quiet because I didn't know the answer to that either. It was outright betrayal and unforgivable. A moment of silence passed between us before Aiden sat down again, more heavily this time, and it occurred to me that he ought to be in the same situation as me.

"How come you get to walk free, all calm and cool, but I don't?"

He looked up at me and cracked a smile. "For starters, I don't look cool on purpose. Second, I wasn't electrocuted for as long as you were. I was in my room down the hall almost all day yesterday, taking dosages of nurem every 15 minutes. I was only able to begin moving around again this morning. But you should be good by tomorrow."

"Then we can start training?" I asked hopefully. I was feeling restless for some reason and wanted to start Shifting again.

"Sorry, bud. Neither of us can start until next month."

If I had the ability to jump to my feet in shock, I definitely would've done it. "What?"

"They don't want any mental or physical stress on us until we've fully recovered. And you know Shifting can cause both," he said evenly.

"I guess," I replied. But it still upset me that I'd have nothing to do for the next few weeks. "So what's our game plan?"

"As of right now, to survive. But, I'm hoping to be able to take our enemies out once and for all."

I was about to make a remark to that, when someone shouted down the hallway, "Hey, Aiden. You coming or what?"

"Be there in a second," Aiden yelled back. He looked at me a little regretfully. "I have to go. See you around."

He started to leave, but before he exited the room, I blurted out, "Could you sleep in here tonight?" The question had been nagging at me for the past five minutes, and it just sorta tumbled out. But, immediately afterwards, I felt stupid.

He turned to look at the only other hospital bed in the room. "You sure? I think you'd be fine by yourself."

"I don't think so." Being an only child, I had always slept alone in my bedroom. But having someone for a roommate, especially a guy who didn't snore, was a situation I'd grown attached to.

He shrugged. "Well, all right, I will this time. See you in a few hours." With that, Aiden was gone, leaving a small silence in the room.

"I think I understand now," I said, more to myself than to anyone else.

Aiden cleared his throat strongly. "What?"

I looked over at him. "Oh, I just know how you left so quickly after my first day of practice."

He gave a knowing smile. "So, what're your thoughts?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "You must have some weird teleportation ability."

He sat down on his bed. "Yeah, that basically sums it up. It's actually just Shifting, but you're doing it on yourself. However, you can't do it for long distances past your line of sight. It's really dangerous. Like, for one, you can't breath or see until you reappear. And there are a lot of things you have to consider: your cells, muscles, bones… everything in your body. You have to think of all of it before attempting this Shifting move."

"Tyler did it to me," I said, the memory coming back painfully, like it was squeezing my arm. "After that, I wasn't able to Shift anything. Do you know why that happened?"

Aiden was quiet for a moment before responding. "I'm not completely sure about this, but I think he removed some of the Particles in your body."

My mouth gaped. "Is that even possible?"

"Maybe," he replied. "You see, even though everyone has Particles within them, only a few are Shifters. They have a larger number of Particles in their bodies than a normal person. But, if they were to lose some for whatever reason, their powers are weakened, even taken away."

"So, that's what happened to me?" I asked a little apprehensively.

"Yeah, it was. I couldn't free you at first because they'd be able to stop me. It was only after I got burnt by the water that I did. And I think, by that point, Tyler lost his concentration, bringing your abilities back to their fullest. But, trust me, this break won't be the death of us. We'll be back in business in no time." He checked his phone. 9:31. "We ought to go to bed. Better get used to turning in early so we aren't completely flip-flopped."

"So, we're not continuing Night Mode anymore?" I asked.

He shook his head. "There's no point now. We're set up in an abandoned part of town, so no one's going to see us."

"This is going to be difficult," I replied. I hadn't slept at night for a while.

Aiden laughed. "Difficult for you? You were using Night Mode for, what, a few weeks? I've been using it for four years. This is new for me."

"I can just imagine," I said, rolling my eyes, but grinning nonetheless. Once you got to know him, hanging out with Aiden could be really fun.

A couple hours later, Aiden was already in a deep sleep, surprisingly, but I lay awake. I'd tried to doze off a few times, but my body was trying to stay active. As if this was hard for Aiden. He could fall asleep any time of the day. Before I came here, getting to sleep was always hard at home. I'd be awake for hours before my body succumbed to drowsiness and gave me time to rest my eyes.

I was thinking about all the things we still had to do. Defeating Kaitlyn, Tyler, and Brandon was probably not going to be easy. I didn't even know who Brandon was, or how powerful he could be, so the only thing that I, that all of us, could do was stay focused and get stronger before we faced them. The memory of Kaitlyn saying that Aiden couldn't let go of his past floated to the front of my mind, and I rolled over slightly to face him, wondering if he'd be alright.

Even though it was dark, I could see a small smile on his face. It seemed that she was wrong; he seemed to be able to cope with it pretty well, and, to me, that was enough.

Everything would be alright.

With that final thought, I closed my eyes and finally fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

_12_

Kaitlyn and Tyler were basically limping down the empty and abandoned hallway of the high school. Kaitlyn never liked to show weakness, but considering they were alone, and had survived a Particle Blast, she was willing to let it slide just this one time. The fighting underground had ended about a half hour ago, when Tyler had told everyone to hide wherever they could, because the police were about to barge in at any second. By the time, they had gotten to the second floor, the sound of shouting and blaring of sirens could be heard clearly through the windows in the old classrooms.

Even though the exhilaration of not getting caught was still coursing through her veins, the rage directed at Aiden was still fresh in her mind. It hadn't occurred to her that he was able to produce a blast with so much power and vengeance. This was going to make getting rid of him harder than she'd thought.

"He's going to be worse than dead," she seethed.

Tyler knew who she was talking about. "Our time will come," he assured her. "But right now, we should concentrate on healing up."

Kaitlyn laughed dryly. "We've been waiting too long. He has to pay."

"You'll just get yourself killed," he deadpanned back.

"Look, if we can't at least eliminate one of them, they won't be much of a threat," she reasoned. "I can feel that they're more powerful together."

"We can barely stand right now," Tyler replied, feeling his tolerance diminish. "It'd be suicide."

"Well, if you took out Jason when you should've, we would've been one step closer to destroying them all," Kaitlyn retorted, her voice rising as her anger grew.

Tyler whipped around to face her and was about to fire off an insult, when another, more smooth, voice cut him off.

"Both of you are hopeless."

Kaitlyn and Tyler turned to see someone leaning against the wall, smirking.

She rolled her eyes. "You're late."

The person walked over to them, stepping into the moonlight coming from the skylights in the ceiling. His hair was the same color as his eyes, golden brown, and the T-Shirt he wore bore the symbol that all Shifters used to sport, a circle morphing into a triangle. "Well, not exactly easy to escape after being hit in the head with a brick and being interrogated by police officers. Oh, well. Nothing nurem can't fix."

"I'll remember that," Kaitlyn replied boredly.

"How'd you get away, Brandon?" Tyler asked.

"Same way I always do," he said. "Talked around it."

"Right," Tyler said under his breath.

"So, even though you two failed to complete what I asked of you, did you at least get half of it done?"

Kaitlyn's eyes flared coldly, and she opened her mouth to respond, but Tyler stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder. He was more often than not the one to stop Brandon and Kaitlyn from killing each other.

"Yes, we did," he said calmly. "They were completely unprepared. But for the record, our creations will be of no use if they were dead."

"Tell me about it," Brandon replied bitterly. "I had to hold myself back when I fought Jason back in his house, so I wouldn't kill him. You should thank me for that." Then his grin returned to his face. "It's good that you accomplished the task, though. Once Aiden and Jason come face to face with them, there's not a chance they'll win. Then you can finish the job."

Kaitlyn smiled. She was usually easy to please. "I'm liking that."

"Me too," Tyler agreed.

Brandon checked his phone. "And you're sure Ryan's Shifters have left the area?"

"Yes," Kaitlyn replied. "Their presence vanished about 30 minutes ago."

"Perfect," he said. "We can't have any of them sensing what's to come." Brandon took a deep breath. "It's time, bring them out."

Kaitlyn went first, pointing the TV remote-like object at a space in the hallway about 10 feet away. Brandon stepped to the side as she pressed the button, not flicking it this time. The glowing dots began pouring out of the hole where the filaments came from. Once the Particles reached the open air, they turned black before building themselves up into what looked like a human. They clustered together in rapid succession, forming the feet, legs, chest...and finally, the head. His appearance was oddly familiar, black sweatshirt, jeans, boots, and dark brown hair topping his head. His face was obscured in shadows, but when they vanished, his eyes, in rich red and gold colors, were unmistakable.

"It worked," Kaitlyn said in awe. "He's finally here."

This was definitely Aiden they were looking at, but there was something different about him. His eyes had a darkness to them as they scanned their surroundings. His face had a cold, neutral look to it, and Kaitlyn watched eagerly as she put the device in her back pocket. Brandon nodded to Tyler, who aimed his device next to the shadow Aiden.

"Oh, by the way," Tyler said quietly. "This can't be used again. Aiden rendered it useless when he made me drop it." Upon contact with the gym floor, it had somehow cracked, reducing its power to almost nothing.

Brandon shrugged. "Doesn't matter. This is the only reason we need it for."

Tyler nodded, and pressed the button. The Particles flew from their prison and immediately began to form their own person. They revealed gray shorts, a blue T-Shirt, and black Vans. His face, as well, was covered in shadows, which evaporated after a moment, revealing soft brown eyes. His face was cold too, as he stood up from his kneeling position.

Brandon smirked. "So far so good. Let's see if Aiden and Jason's powers are as grand as you say they are." He walked off and turned into a room that had once been an auditorium. Shadow Aiden and Jason followed along, as if sensing what they'd be doing. Kaitlyn just gaped for a second, seriously wondering if Brandon thought they were lying. There was obviously no doubt about their true abilities. But, she shook her head, and hurried after the trio, glancing back at Tyler for a moment before disappearing into the auditorium.

Tyler stood alone in the hallway, gazing down at the floor, in deep thought. After a moment, he threw down the strange device and sliced it into pieces with an iron sword he'd Shifted from a nearby combination lock. He breathed in deeply and followed Kaitlyn into the room. The broken device on the floor, which Brandon simply called the Taser, crackled with sparks of electricity for a few seconds, before going dark, any life within snuffed out for good.


End file.
